The Guardian of Fire
by Serenity in Virginia
Summary: After the Great War, it comes to the next generation to help pick up the pieces. With the death of Ignitus, his lost son, Flame, must be the one to take on the mantle. From capable fighter, to shrewd diplomat, to wise mentor, Flame will have to learn it all. But his Uncle Red seeks the title too, and the two compete to prove to Avalar who is suited to become the Guardian of Fire.
1. The End of the World

**ACT I**

* * *

It was the end of the world as they knew it.

They all saw the massive golem finish it's trek across the earth, an all-consuming ring of fire following in its wake, the sky red and black as the earth trembled and cracked beneath. Screams and cries of despair were barely audible over the ensuing destruction of the earth. Panic ensued as the denizens of Thorp struggled to survive.

The dragon's of Thorp struggled to get the message across to the scared and confused victims. Dragons of every color imaginable piled into the caves in and around the village; it was safer in caves than out there in the open. Earth dragons used up every bit of their power to ensure the caves would not collapse, fortifying the walls and keeping falling debris at bay.

When the flow of dragons coming into the caves ceased, a yell deeper into the caves made the entrance to the cave close up; swallowing the dragons in darkness and muffled destruction. Muffled whimpers and questions could be heard as they waited out the destruction, if that was even happening.

"Do you think the rest made it in time, Chief?" one dragon, asked the other who gave the order to close the cave off. They looked at them with apprehension, before looking back to the sealed entrance.

"We can only hope…" the other dragon, a larger fire dragon, said longingly, the earth shaking beneath them, making him focus on other concerns.

Outside, in hell on earth, two dragons were struggling to survive, trying their best to keep in the air as the rabid winds threatened to rip them from the sky and toss them into the cracks in the earth below. The first dragon, a red and yellow fire dragon was having an easier time than their partner, a pink and cream dragon with a heart shaped necklace. Both of them panting and gasping to say aloft, but both of them losing air fast.

"C'mon, Ember, we're almost there…" the other dragon said, looking at the cave and other dragons flooding in. But a yelp from behind made him stop and turn, the winds had overtaken Ember and made her plummet to the ground. He looked back to the cave, the flow of dragons into the cave was slowing down, in time they would be closed, just like the rest of the caves in the surrounding area. There would be nowhere else to hide.

Without a second thought, the dragon turned in the air and dived down to catch Ember, flapping vigorously as he tried to catch up to her. He could see Ember trying to reach out and grab his outstretched paw.

"Flame?!" Ember screamed, mixing between trying to adjust herself in the air and reach out to grab Flame. With one final flap oh her wings, she gave herself enough lift to grab Flame's paw. She was yanked up with a yelp and kept close to his chest as Flame attempted to glide to a mostly stable chunk of earth.

"Hang on!" Flame said, trying his best to keep the two dragons stable as he landed. A sudden downdraft made his mostly gentle descent into a slam into the earth, making the two dragons tumble into the hard ground.

"Flame, get up!" Ember was the first one up, letting Flame lean into her so he could stand easier. They looked around, looking for somewhere, anywhere to go now. Then they saw it, a small cave that no one else had found; it could barely fit the both of them "This way!" Ember said, helping Flame move across the shaky ground to the cave, it was better in there than outside.

Once they were finally inside, they collapsed half way into the cave, panting and gasping for air and relief as they looked outside. The end of the world raged on outside, oblivious to the fact that it nearly killed two young dragons.

"So that's it then...hah," Flame spoke first, still panting for air "The Dark Master wins, and we're all dead. We coulda thrown him a party: 'Congratulations on killing us all!'" Flame said, laughing weakly at his own joke.

Ember was laughing softly too, keeping close to Flame, of course it didn't make her feel safer, but at least she felt something "The world is literally falling apart...and you're still making jokes?" Ember asked. Flame raised an eyebrow and grinned, a look that never failed to make her feel smile. She sighed, looking back outside "Maybe he knew no one was gonna show up unless we were dead and enthralled to him...he can make zombies, right?" Ember asked.

"I don't know, it's the Dark Master, if he can rip the world in two like paper, I think he can make zombies." Flame laughed a laugh that neither had heard in awhile, and Ember was already laughing hard in return. Genuine laughter, at the end of the world, they would.

The shaking of the ground beneath them silenced them. The weight of the situation came back upon them and Flame stood up "Well, if we're done joking, there is something I wanna say…" he looked at Ember softly and smiled a weak, kind of dopey smile.

Ember realized what he was doing right away and shook her head with goofy smile on her face "No...no no no you're not doing this now." she let out a half chuckle as tears were beginning to form at the bottom of her eyes. Flame tried his hardest to keep his serious expression, his eyes were growing wet too.

"Yes, I am doing this now. I'm not getting another chance to do this, after all." Flame smirked and placed a paw on Ember's cheek, it was refreshing to feel her rest her head on it, tears beginning to stream down as she nodded. He swallowed the lump in his throat and continued "You've been at my side since we were kids, keeping me safe, keeping me happy, listening to me, talking to me, even laughing at my bad jokes," Flame said with a cracking voice, making Ember nod as her crying became a little stronger "You know I never knew my real family, but you and your dad were the closest…" he swallowed hard "...the best I could've ever asked for. You're more than a sister, you're more than a mother, you're even more than a best friend...you're everything to me," Flame said, hot tears finally streaking down his face as he tried to keep his smile up, for the both of them "I love you."

Ember laughed in response as she moved closer and embraced him, their bodies close together as the wept together "Flame...that's the best you can do?" Ember said, partly wanting to keep the light mood present, partly wanting to hear more from him.

Flame laughed, he knew Ember was kidding "I didn't really have a lot of time to think. You know I don't do good under pressure," he said, hugging her tighter.

"Flame…" Ember inhaled before continuing "Calling you my best friend doesn't do all the things you've done for me justice. You've made me laugh, cry, smile. You've been with me for as long as I can remember. Ancestor's sake you saved my life…" as she said that, the world outside continued to erupt with destruction "...for however much longer that's going to be…" a half hearted-chuckle came out of her " If...if this is really the end...I'm glad I could be with you now. I love you too, Flame," she said leaning into Flame and nuzzling into his muzzle. Flame froze, closed his eyes and returned the gesture, the two huddled close together as the outside world continued to tear itself apart.

The two dragons tensed as the earth beneath them began to split, the roof of the cave shaking and making stones fall down. The two of them huddled close to one wall of the cave as the floor beneath them split.

"Ember…-!" Flame began to speak, but a sizeable rock from the ceiling came down upon Flame's head, knocking him out cold. He fell limply into Ember.

"Flame? Flame! No!" Ember said, trying to rouse Flame back to conscious. Her paw brushed where the rock had hit Flame and she could feel a sizeable bump, thankfully it didn't break the scales. Looking closely, he was still breathing too. She looked back outside, Flame may have been alive, but now she was all alone for the end of it all "Flame…" she said longingly, burying her head in his chest and beginning to cry.

Then suddenly, everything stopped, the roaring winds, the cracking earth and the booming thunder all ceased in their cacophonous maelstrom. Ember shot her head up to the sudden silence and looked outside, everything remained still with a purple tint enveloping it all. She blinked in disbelief, holding Flame tighter and closer now, fear and despair replaced with confusion and disbelief.

"What?" Ember mouthed silently as she looked around, the ground shaking once again with a new vigor, but instead of the world continuing to fall apart, the pieces of earth were beginning to move back together, Ember watched the crack in the middle of the cave mend itself, alongside every other crack that riddled the ground. The black clouds parted and the red that once tainted the sky was replaced with a bright blue. The earth beneath her sprung to life with plant life, grass, weeds and flowers all coming back as sun shone down upon the world now

"...What?!" she now audibly shouted as she sat in a completely normal cave now. The destruction of the world seemingly stopping in its tracks and reverting to before all hell broke loose.

'Did...did he change his mind or…-?" Ember's mind raced with explanations as to what happened, but amongst the cheering she could hear from the emerging dragons, one name rang the loudest.

Spyro

The other purple dragon that they had all heard about. The young dragon who traveled across Avalar, liberating place after place from the the grip of the Dark Master. Alongside Cynder, the reformed Terror of the Skies who joined the fight against her master. They did it. They actually did it. The world was saved.

"Spread out! Look for survivors! The rest head back to the village!" she could hear the voice of the chief dragon that ruled over Thorp say as he, alongside many other dragons, took to the sky to

Ember tentatively took a step outside of the cave, as if the world outside was a trap for her to fall into the cracks of the earth that littered the ground moments ago. As she saw the dragons fly over head, she picked up her pace "Down here!" she managed to yell with a new energy, the reality of the situation beginning to strike her.

The chief and a few dragons turned down to look at her and dived down as the rest flew out to continue searching. The chief fire dragon landed in front of Ember and embraced her as quickly as he approached as the other dragons looked into the cave and saw Flame's motionless form and rush in to get it.

"Is he…-?" the Chief asked Ember, fear and concern painfully evident in his voice as he looked at Flame, then back to Ember.

Ember shook her head, looking back at Flame "No dad, just unconscious." the sigh of relief from the Chief was shared as the other dragons hoisted Flame onto one of the other's dragon's back and took off.

"Go with him, back to Thorp," the Chief said as he took off, Ember nodded and lifted herself up off the ground with a flap of her wings. She looked between the earth below, the horizon, and the dragon that carried Flame. Her mind raced to try and register everything around her. A fixed world, and Flame, getting carried to a place where he'll be better.

* * *

The first surprise for Flame was that he opened his eyes at all, last he checked, the world was in the middle of ending. The second surprise was where he was, instead of a cave that was bursting open to a sky of hellfire, he was in what looked like a library; books shelved and stacked as far as his eyes could see. His ears rang from the sudden shift from loud to silence that he experienced. He looked around and saw no sign of Ember too. He rolled on to his feet and looked around, trying to make sense of where he was.

'Is this the afterlife?' Flame thought as he continued to look around, finding books, books and even more books 'I mean they are dead...guess there isn't much else you can do..."

"Now...where might you be, Spyro?"

Flame instantly tensed to the new voice "Looks like I'm not alone…" he muttered as he followed the sound of the voice and the sounds of pages turning. He poked his head from around a corner and blinked to the sight of a dragon, their nose stuck in a book as they looked through the pages.

'Spyro? The other purple dragon? Does he have something to do with this?', Flame thought to himself as he poked his head out a little more, getting a better look at the reading dragon. The dragon was quite large when compared to Flame, his scales were a dull blue, and the rest of his features were varying shades of a dull blue. He was cloaked in a brown robe with scrolls lining the pockets on either side. Flame thought he could make out the chain of a necklace around his neck, but he couldn't quite see it. He leaned out a little more to try and see, but went too far and fell to the floor.

Flame inhaled sharply as he was exposed in the middle of the floor, prone, and in a room with a dragon he had never met before. As he sat there, expecting the dragon to turn around and see him, the dragon continued to read, like nothing happened. Flame exhaled in relief and stood, keeping his eyes on the reading dragon as he tried to get back to cover. He then walked headlong into a pile of books which fell over with a thud.

"Hmm?" the blue dragon brought his head up and closed the book.

"Of course," Flame said flatly. There was no use trying to jump back and hide again. So he stood there by the fallen books with uncomfortable smile on his face as the other dragon turned around to face him "Heh… Hey there. How are ya?"

The other dragon seemed oblivious to the fact that Flame spoke. The blue dragon's eyes were wide in disbelief as it looked Flame up and down, his breath was shallow as the two continued to stand there, looking at each other. Flame waited for him to say something, anything, but nothing happened.

"...Flame?" the blue dragon finally spoke, taking a few steps towards the red dragon.

"Uh...yeah, that's me...not sure how you know my name but hey…-?!" Flame muttered the last part as the blue dragon continued his approach, stopping when they were only a few meters apart. The other dragon beginning to smile warmly.

"Flame." a new voice spoke to him, this one sounding ethereal. A warm feeling passed over him as he heard this voice; it sounded so familiar.

"Uhh…" was all Flame could manage.

"Flame?" the ethereal voice spoke once again.

"You're alive…" the blue dragon seemed lost in his own world, not listening to Flame or the other voice.

"What are you talking about? How do you know my name?" Flame asked, the silence between him and the blue dragon and the continuing ethereal voice beginning to get to him.

"Flame?" the ethereal voice spoke again, sounding a little louder.

The blue dragon's mouth began to move, but nothing came out.

"Flame?"

And then he was awake.

* * *

Flame's eyes shot open as he took in his surrounding once again. He wasn't in a cave dying, he wasn't in a library getting stared down, he was on a mat in a tent. The familiar glow and warmth of red gems above him as he lay there. He tried to get up, but his muscles screamed in protest and he was forced back down again.

"Oh, thank the ancestors," the familiar voice of Ember spoke, sitting diligently beside Flame as she smiled warmly. Flame returned the smile and adjusted himself so that he was laying down on his belly.

"Hey Ember...so is this the afterlife? Or do I get to go through one more?" Flame asked with a chuckle, making Ember laugh too, albeit in a confused tone.

"No, better. I've been hearing that Spyro put the world back together. He stopped Malefor." Ember smiled and moved closer to Flame "We're alive."

"What?" Flame tried to stand up again, only for his body to refuse and make him fall back down on to the mat "Can you uh…-?" but Ember was already helping him up and letting him lean on her side as the slowly walked outside of the tent.

Ember was not kidding, what had once been an apocalypse was now a peaceful image. The reds and blacks of death replaced with the greens and blues of life. Around them were other dragons, walking in and out of tents, tending to the wounded and ensuring everyone was alive and well.

"Whoa…" was all Flame could manage as the two of them looked out over the scene "So what's next?" he asked.

"Well, we expected we had to rebuild the village, but whatever Spyro did to fix the earth fixed our village too! Once everyone's feeling better, we were all going to head back together. Ember smiled an infectious smile that spread to Flame in seconds. The two continued to walk out amongst the refugees, everyone, even the wounded, looking quite happy to not be dead. Flame kept walking with Ember, smiling at the sight, and the feeling of being right next to Ember.

And then he remembered what happened in the cave.

"Oh," Flame said, stopping to think about it. Ember continued walking though, unaware that Flame stopped and that he fell over without her support.

"Oh!" Ember stopped and gasped as she heard the thud of Flame falling to the ground. She quickly ran up to her and helped him up again "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong...just…" Flame said, looking to Ember "All the stuff we said in the cave..."

"...Oh." Ember said, looking down at the ground in thought, silence coming over them.

"Look, if you just wanna blame it on the heat of the moment and pretend it never happened. That's fine with me." Flame said, accepting of the fact that she might say that, but also praying to the ancestors above that she'll say no.

Ember looked back to Flame and smiled, shaking her head "No…-?"

"Oh thank the ancestors," Flame said, making the two break into a laughing fit.

"But yeah, no. I meant what I said. I think you did too," she winked and nosed Flame as she turned her gaze outwards.

"Absolutely," Flame said, grinning. Flame followed Ember's gaze to the horizon, the sun was beginning to set.

"Tomorrow is going to be the first day of our new lives…" she turned to Flame smiling "I couldn't think of anybody else to spend it with…" Ember said softly, leaning in once more and planting a soft kiss on Flame's muzzle, which Flame slowly returned. After a few moments they pulled away, and continued to look out over the horizon, side by side with each other.


	2. The Guardians of Elements

The first few days after the world was restored were filled with hesitation; many of the dragons of Thorp thought that the world would fall apart again. But as days turned to weeks, weeks to months, the fear began to dissipate and the lives of the residence moved on. Thanks to Spyro and Cynder, not only was the world restored, but the village that was once a smoldering crater was back to normal. Thorp was so far removed from the turmoils of war that there was no other cleaning to be done for them.

Thorp was a dragon village in its entirety, consisting of wayward dragons and dragons who fled the war torn Warfang and neighboring civilizations on the very far edges of the Valley of Avalar. It was small and not well fortified but that never concerned the citizens; after all, who in their right mind would attempt to rob from a village of dragons? They never received a lot of traders and visitors, but they got enough to help keep the place supplied well, despite the village being quite self sufficient as it was. As for things to do, Thorp was a boring place, the people and nature around the village were more entertaining, than the village itself.

And that's exactly where Flame and Ember were.

The two dragons were flying over the valley, landing peacefully by a clear running river; Flame and Ember's favorite place to relax after a day of doing nothing. It was entertainment, it was free food, it was perfect. Flame was the first to land on the edge of the water, looking into the clear river to see the fish swimming passively through, blissfully unaware of the massive dragon that loomed above them. Flame licked his muzzle at the prospect of what to eat today.

"Look out below!" Flame could hear Ember call out in an unconvincing manner. Before he could turn around to meet her, she tackled him into the water, the resounding splash scattering any of the fish in the area. The two dragons surfaced with a laugh as Flame splashed water in Ember's face.

"Heheh, hey! You scared away our brunch!" Flame said, Ember raising a brow and smiling, trying not to bust out laughing again.

"Brunch? Flame, it's already late afternoon."

"Well then it's a late brunch!"

"Flame...that's just lunch," Ember said, receiving another splash in the face from the fire dragon.

"I don't remember asking you, my dear," Flame said with a grin. He yelped and went underwater as he saw Ember lunge at him. He pivoted in the water and saw Ember swimming at him. He tried again to dodge her attack, but she was too quick. She tackled his lower half and sent them both into the bottom of the river. Flame could see the smug look on Ember's face as she let go and swam towards the surface. He followed suit and returned to the surface, inhaling fresh air and laughing as he looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Ember?" Flame said, turning around and being face to face with the pink dragoness. Flame could barely get out a yelp before Ember tackled him to the shallow edges of the river and pinned him there, she was sure to get him in a spot where he wasn't going anywhere and that he could still breathe.

"Hahaha, okay okay! I give up! I give up!" Flame saw Ember go down and press her nose to his with a cheeky smile.

"Just remember, you might be able to breathe that fire of yours, but I don't even need an element to beat you," Ember said as Flame lightly blew a puff of fire at her neck, just hot enough to feel but not to burn. She giggled and leaned down once again, kissing Flame on the muzzle. Flame brought a paw up to her cheek and returned the kiss happily. They stopped after a few moments, looking into each other's eyes as Flame gave her a tap to get off of him. As she did, he rolled over and shaked the excess water on his back.

"One of these days, Ember, I'll get ya," Flame said, chuckling. Ember hummed as she sat on the grass by the edge of the water.

"I'd love to see you try, dear." She winked as Flame plopped down right beside her, looking back at the water "Although I must admit, you seemed distracted. You usually last a little longer," Ember laid down and rested her head on Flame's neck, paw close to his "You okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, I'm still thinking about the dream that I had," Flame said.

"With the other dragon?" Ember asked "Dad told you it was just the Chronicler. He can visit dreams like that." Ember lifted her head up, getting into a comfortable position.

"I know what the Chief said, but...I dunno, that's weird isn't it? What does the Chronicler want with me?" Flame said, rolling over so that Ember's head and paw were now resting on his chest.

"I dunno, stories say the Chronicler regularly visited Spyro on his journey. Maybe he's making sure you're ready for some big destiny thing," Ember chuckled as she leaned in for another kiss.

"Heh, yeah…" Flame said half-heartedly, but was more than eager to meet Ember for another kissing session.

"Flame? Flame!" the two stopped making out as they heard the voice and wingbeats of another dragon. They both looked out to the ice dragon coming and quickly adjusted themselves. The dragon landed, not commenting on what they were doing before, whether out of a lack of knowledge or a lack of interest "Flame, there you are. Chief wants to see you, you have visitors."

Flame and Ember looked at each other in disbelief "What does anybody want with me?" Flame asked, looking back to the messenger dragon. He just shrugged.

"Dunno, but you don't wanna keep em waitin. They looked important, from Warfang, I think."

"Warfang?" Ember pipped in "They're still rebuilding aren't they? They can afford to send messengers?" again, the messenger just shrugged.

"Guess so. I think I remember the Chief calling them the Guardians," the messenger said again.

"The Guardians?! The Guardians of the Elements want something to do with Flame?" Ember asked, the messenger looking clearly annoyed now.

"Hey hey hey! Don't interrogate the messenger here. You don't think I already know this? I was just told to find Flame, that's it. Now c'mon!" Flame and Ember were taken aback by the messenger's outburst but followed him back to Thorp all the same.

* * *

The three dragons landed at the front of the village, even without seeing the visitors, Flame and Ember could see all of the dragons around the Chief's tent, whispering among themselves about the newcomers. A hush fell over the crowd as Flame walked through, Flame tried his hardest to eavesdrop on the villagers, but he couldn't hear any of what they had to say. The messenger was already lost among the crowd, leaving Ember as his only companion into the tent.

"You ready?" Ember said with a reassuring smile, a small smile slowly spreading across his face too as he nodded.

"As I'll ever be," Flame said, and he walked in.

The large Chief's tent was more than capable of holding a dozen adult sized dragons, yet somehow, as Flame stepped in, he felt like he was growing smaller, shrinking with every step. At the other end of the tent was the Chief, and to one side of him was exactly who the messenger said they were, the Guardians of the Elements.

The Guardian of Electricity, Volteer, as quick with a bolt of lightning as he was his tongue. Incredibly intelligent and wise, the electric dragon regarded Flame with a warm and inviting smile, which did make Flame feel a little better being in the presence of the Guardians.

The Guardian of Ice, Cyril, who descended from a very old, very well known line of ice dragons and wasn't afraid to remind anybody who forgot. Proud to the point of arrogance, the ice dragon regarded Flame with a smile and a nod as he looked down his muzzle.

The Guardian of Earth, Terrador, a big dragon with an even bigger heart. Stoic, powerful and a master tactician, the earth dragon merely looked to Flame, then back to the Chief.

The Guardian of Fire, Ignitus...was strangely absent.

Flame found himself stopping just before the four dragons and sitting down, nerves keeping his wit in check as he looked up at the dragons, unsure of which one to focus on as they looked at him.

"This is Flame, as you requested, Master Terrador," The Chief said with a hint of formality.

"Thank you." was all Terrador said as he looked back down at Flame. Flame could tell Terrador was sizing him up for something. He needed to say something, just to keep himself from fainting from the stares the four large dragons gave him.

"So who talks first?" Flame asked, the other dragons flinched to him suddenly speaking "Do you? Am I supposed to say something or…-?" Flame shrugged and smiled. Volteer and Cyril gave off a light chuckle, but Terrador and the Chief were not amused.

"Young one, forgive us for the intrusion, this must be quite frightening for you…" Cyril began, finally breaking the ice.

"You're telling me…" Flame muttered, noticing another stifled chortle from Volteer.

"...But we've come here to see you. There's something we must discuss with you," Cyril said. Flame looked to Cyril in confusion; what could the Guardians want with him?

"Surely you have been aware of the absence, the disappearance, the lack of…-!" Volteer rambled on like lightning. Flame felt like if Terrador hadn't interrupted, he could have gone for hours.

"Ignitus, the guardian of fire." Terrador finished Volteer's sentence for him "According to reports from Spyro and Cynder, he sacrificed himself so that they could pass through the Belt of Fire and reach the Dark Master. It was thanks to him, that they could defeat Malefor and save the world," Terrador said.

"Uh...I'm... sorry to hear that, really I am," Flame said, raising a eyebrow in confusion "But what does that any of that have to do with me?" he asked. He turned to Volteer as he cleared his throat.

"Because Flame, with Ignitus' death comes the matter of finding, locating, acquiring, uh…" Volteer cleared his throat and continued his sentence "...A replacement to be the Guardian of Fire. And we have come to the decision that it should be you," Volteer said. Cyril nodded in agreement as Terrador simply looked on.

"Me?" Flame finally had the courage to speak up a little more "You want me, a stranger, to be the next Guardian of Fire?" Flame chuckled, expecting the rest to laugh along, but it never came. If anything, there expressions grew more firmer.

"I'm afraid this isn't a joke, Flame," Terrador said, maybe a little harsher than he meant to. Flame blinked, looking around at the others, seeing if they were playing him for a fool, but they were either in on this together, or dead serious.

"...Why me?" Flame asked, slowly beginning to accept that maybe they were telling the truth.

"Because, we recently discovered that Ignitus had kept a secret from us. He had a child, a son. And that child is you, Flame," Cyril said.

The room went quiet for a moment, and then a crack of a snort was heard coming from Flame.

"Is that right?" Flame said, looking to the Chief as he continued to control his laughing "You really had me going, Chief. I actually believed these guys for a minute. I didn't expect you to pull a fast one on me. Is this for the firecracker I placed in your sleeping mat? I didn't think you'd figure it out. But this...this was a great comeback. How'd you even get these guys to agree to come with ya?" Flame was laughing harder now. Volteer and Cyril looked to the Chief in quiet concern.

"Flame, I'm afraid...that was you?!" the Chief snapped before taking a deep breath and regaining his composure "...I'm afraid the Guardians are telling the truth." the Chief reached behind him and revealed a couple of old pieces of parchment from a satchel "You never knew your mother, Flame. That was because she came to us wounded and on the verge of death. You were in her arms, just a whelp at the time, your eyes weren't even open…You must have hatched on the road here..." the Chief continued solemnly.

Flame's laughing came to a halt as the Chief told his story "Chief...there's such a thing as going too far with a joke..." he stopped, waiting for any indication this was a trick. The Chief rarely got this way with him and now, a part of him WANTED this to be a joke.

"I knew your mother, you know, Burst. She was a wonderful dragon, my best friend, even. She was attacked on the way here, that's why she came to us the way she was. We tried our best to save her, but her wounds were too great…" The Chief sighed, eyes watery as he looked ahead, and then to Flame "I was afraid to tell you this, afraid you would resent me and the rest of us. You know I took care of you as best as I could, alongside Ember. But now, it seems as if you must know the truth now…" he finished, gesturing for Flame to look at the letters. Flame looked to the Chief in disbelief, then back down at the letters.

Flame's mind was racing too much to properly read, but he was able to make out the important details. These letters were written by someone else; they were meant for Ignitus, answering a call and a proclamation of love. They were mushy, but sentimental. As he continued to read, the tone of the letters changed, talking about a war and a child to keep safe. Flame's breath caught in his throat as the letters mentioned traveling to a faraway village known as Thorp.

Flame's stomach was in knots with the last line. He was handed another set of letters from Terrador, these letters were from Ignitus to a dragon named Burst, his mother, apparently. These letters were the questions to the answers in the other letters. Poetics of love and affection and the eternity of it. Much like the other letters, they too shifted in tone to be more serious, asking that Burst and a child be sent away and kept safe. The last line he read resonated with him, solidifying once and for all that they were all telling truth.

"_I know we did not have the time to discuss names for our child. But don't you think Flame would be wonderful?"_

Flame dropped the last letter, his breathing becoming ragged as a hollow feeling washed over him. He had a family...he had a family! But they weren't here anymore. His mother and father were gone now, these letters the only evidence of their existence, of his connection to the two of them.

"I understand this is a lot to take in Flame and I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but…-?" the Chief took a step forward and Flame took a step back, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I…" was all Flame managed before he turned around and ran out of the tent. Judging by the gasps and the flaps of wings from outside, it sounded like Flame had flown off.

"Flame…-?!" the Chief began to move to catch up to Flame, but then Cyril stopped him.

"I think it's best we let the boy be alone for now," Cyril said. The Chief nodded solemnly, picking up the letters and putting them back in the satchel.


	3. The Decision

Flame had lost track of the time, he wasn't sure how long he had been laying down by the edge of the river. The setting sun gave the water a warm, red and pink hue. He watched the fish pass by, unaware of the dragon mindlessly watching them swim by. What would once make his mouth water made his stomach ache. How could he rest easy after what happened? He had parents who cared enough to keep him safe from the jaws of war, but they were all dead, and then he was expected to replace one of them, as one of the Guardians of the Elements.

The honor!

The pressure…

He lay there unresponsive as he heard the sound of wingbeats behind him. He didn't have to think too hard to know it was Ember, coming to check in on him.

"Hey," Ember said, right on cue. Flame flicked his tail in acknowledgement as he heard her walk up and sit down beside him. Flame groaned as he sat up and looked to her with a half-hearted attempt at a smile "You don't have to pretend around me, hun. I know you're not okay," Ember said bluntly, and Flame dropped his smile with a sigh "Dad told me everything." Ember admitted, moving in a little closer. She felt Flame lean in to her and she draped a pink wing around him "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"A million things at once," Flame said blandly "Learning I had parents I can't see. Having to become a Guardian. I got so many questions...what am I going to do?" Flame confessed to Ember, looking at her with genuine concern. Ember smiled gently.

"Do you want to do that?" Ember asked.

"No! Yes?" Flame responded, making Ember think.

"Well, you don't know how to do it. I don't know how either. But you got three other Guardians who are probably going to be more than happy to show you the ropes. Maybe it'll be easier than it looks. Especially seeing as how you're 'The Son of Ignitus'. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sounds like it would make a good story, huh?" Ember nudged him, appealing to the comic in him.

"Yeah. Except it'd be more like 'Forgotten Heritage: The Lost Son of Ignitus'. That'd make a great story, I bet." Flame chuckled in amusement as his paw gestured to the title of an imaginary story. The two shared a laugh for a moment before Ember continued speaking.

"Remember how I said maybe the Chronicler coming to you was a sign? Maybe this is it. Maybe this is your destiny; to be the next Guardian." Ember could see the cogs working in Flame's head, the feeling of dread washing from his expression and replaced with one of optimism.

"Ya think?" Flame turned to her with a grin, earning a lick on the cheek and a nod.

"I'd be willing to bet on it." Ember winked at him and undraped her wing. The sun had finally set, leaving the environment cloaked in a dark blue with glistens of white across the water "I think it's time to head back. I think you got something to tell the guardians?" Ember said, earning a nod and a big smile from Flame. The two took to the sky and headed back to Thorp.

Flame entered the Chief's tent in a way that made everyone turn and face him. His muzzle formed a shaky smile but he looked to the guardians and nodded.

"Volteer, Cyril, Terrador, I've thought about it. Becoming the next Guardian of Fire and all. I'm not really sure if I had a choice in the matter and if I'm really gonna be the best choice, but...uh…" Flame realized he had been rambling and let loose a few details he shouldn't have "But I'll do it," he said, nodding with a confidence that betrayed how he actually felt.

"Ah, why young Flame that's great news! How wonderful, stupendous, amazing and uh...hmmhmm," Volteer said, catching himself before he continued too far with his rambling.

"Volteer is right, it's good to hear you will be joining us in Warfang. Best get prepared and get rested. We leave first thing tomorrow morning," Cyril added, accompanied by a yawn, which Volteer mirrored shortly after "It would seem it isn't just young Flame who should all be off to bed now." Cyril chortled.

"Yes, we should all rest," Terrador said, turning to the Chief "Would you mind…-?" Terrador began.

"Yes, yes, of course. We have plenty of empty tents that will fit all of you just fine. I'll have someone make those up for you in a moment," The Chief finished.

"Thank you, Chief," Terrador smiled, he turned to the other guardians "Volteer, Cyril." he regarded each with a nod, as he turned to Flame though, his smile dropped, if only slightly. Then he and the rest of the guardians retreated for the night.

"To think, Flame, you will become a Guardian," the Chief chuckled as he tidied up "What would your parents think to see you now?" he spoke fondly. That's when Flame noticed that the Chief was putting the letters from his parents back into the satchel, his mother's satchel.

"Hey, Chief." Flame spoke before he thought, he tried to pretend he didn't say anything, but the Chief already stopped what he was doing to acknowledge Flame "Do you think...maybe I could have that?" he asked.

The Chief blinked, as if he had suddenly been struck with an epiphany. He smiled warmly and nodded "Yes, of course. Take good care of it Flame." he handed him the satchel delicately and Flame took it. Flame placed the strap over his neck and wing and saw the bag fall to the ground. After adjusting the strap, it rested comfortably at his side.

A satchel, something to own, and it was his mother's no less.

"Thank you." Flame didn't know what else to say and simply left the Chief's tent.

* * *

It was the dead of the night, nearly pitch black if it weren't for the moonlight that managed to pass through the walls of the tent. Ember was sleeping peacefully beside Flame as Flame lay down opposite Ember. He lay there, his mother's satchel still on top of his side. Before he retreated to his tent, the guardians had asked him to pack up everything; there was a good chance he wasn't coming back.

But this satchel, this was all Flame had now. So he was all ready to go, as pathetic as that sounded.

Flame closed his eyes, pretending that the weight of the satchel was his mother wrapping him in a hug, whispering into his ear how much she loved him.

'_What was she like? Was she a hugger? Would she be the kind of dragon to whisper?'_

Flame opened his eyes again, sighing as the questions poured in. He wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon. He stood up, adjusting the satchel as he looked to Ember and then walked out into the night.

He looked up at the starry sky, the moon at its apex and shining down upon him. He turned and looked at the tent where the Guardians were resting. His mind wandered to his father now. He imagined meeting Ignitus, a swell of pride passed through him as he imagined a gentle smile on his father's face as he was named the Guardian of Fire.

'_What was he like? How strong of a Guardian was he? Could I ever live up to that?''_

Flame groaned as he shook his head free of the thoughts and continued walking. His wing over went over the satchel instinctively as his mind continued to dwell on his parents.

'_Do I take more after my mother or my father? Would they be proud of me?'_

Flame stopped in the middle of Thorp with a groan, head down as he tried to push the intrusive questions out of his head.

'_Would they love me?'_

He brought his head back up and closed his eyes with a deep breath, these thoughts weren't going to go away. Rather than ignore them, he decided to humor them, and then they poured in. He imagined what it would be like. If his parents were still alive. If they were right here, right now...

And when he opened his eyes, there they were, just down the road were his parents: Burst and Ignitus, smiling at him with a warm smile that only a parent could provide. Flame smiled back and began to step forward to see them. Trying to think of everything he would say to them, everything he would feel being around them.

But he didn't feel anything, and no words came to mind.

'_And…'_

Flame stopped walking forward, his smile disappearing as the image of Burst and Ignitus faded from his mind.

'_And how come I don't know how to feel about them?'_

Flame looked to where the images of his parents were and beyond, trying to see them again, but nothing appeared. His eyes began to grow watery, and he decided to head back to his tent.

* * *

When Flame awoke, the sun was just beginning to rise and illuminate the tent. Flame brought his head up and looked to his side, his mother's satchel was still resting on his side. He decided not to dwell on what happened last night and got up. As he did, he saw the drape to the tent open and the Chief poked his head in.

"Ah, you're awake" he said quietly, noticing Ember was still asleep "The Guardians are heading back to Warfang soon. They asked me to get you and make sure you're ready to go."

"Yeah, I'll be right out," Flame said with a smile and a nod, the Chief nodded back and closed the tent. Flame looked down at Ember and nudged her head "Hey, Ember. I'm heading out."

"Mm?" Ember yawned and stretched, turning over and looking at Flame with tired eyes "Morning, my love. Feeling excited?" Ember asked.

"I'm feeling something, alright…" Flame muttered, leaning down and kissing Ember "Are you coming with me?"

"I'd love to Flame," Ember said with a smile that quickly faded "But I gotta stay here for a little bit. Some people from Warfang want to talk to Dad about reintegrating the village back with society closer to civilizations and dad thinks it would be a good idea if I join him for...some reason." Ember laughed a little as she finally rolled over and stood up, looking at Flame "I'm sorry. But first chance I get. I'm coming to see you."

Flame smiled, moving into drape his wings around Ember and brush her neck, a wave of relief washed over him as he felt Ember readily return the gesture "I think I'd like that more than anything. I love you, Ember."

"I love you too, Flame," Ember said, leaning in and planting a kiss on Flame's muzzle. Flame wanted it to last longer, but Ember finally pulled away "Now go...they're waiting for you." she smiled so it looked like it didn't hurt to see him go. Flame smiled back in an understanding way and nodded, draping a wing over the satchel once again as he stepped outside.

Flame saw the Guardians waiting at the front of Thorp. He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, put on his best smile, and continued forward "Mornin', guys. We heading out soon?" Flame said, trying his best to sound excited.

"Yes, we we're just waiting for you," Terrador said, looking to Flame before taking flight.

Flame gulped audibly, one sentence and he already felt like he messed up with Terrador, he tried to bounce back "I bet he slept great." he was relieved to hear Volteer and Cyril chuckle, at least they humoured him.

"Ah yes, don't mind him. There's a lot on all of our minds. I suppose he's just being a bit more obvious with it," Cyril sighed, spreading his wings "Now, it's going to take us most of the morning to get to Warfang, do try to keep up, young Flame." Cyril took the sky and followed Terrador.

Volteer approached Flame with a smile "I do hope you enjoy the city, if you ever need help finding anything, I will gladly be your informant, your tour guide, your map and eh...eheheh...well you get the idea…" Volteer chuckled to himself as he was the next to spread his wings and fly.

"Here goes everything…" Flame muttered under his breath. He took a deep breath, let it out and launched himself into the sky to follow after the Guardians.


	4. The City of Warfang

As Flame flew high above the Valley of Avalar, tailing the Guardians; he came to realize how much of his life was him just coasting along, mindlessly drifting day to day.

He had all the time in the world to ask the Chief about who his parents were and where he came from. He realized very early on that the Chief and Ember weren't his real family and yet he just accepted that it was just the way it was. He was an adolescent dragon now, and still never had the nerve to ask anybody. He didn't get an answer until it came knocking on the door and forcing him to fly where he came from, to take over what his father had left him.

He finally knew who he was now. He was Flame, son of Burst and Ignitus and the Guardian of Fire to be. But what did it mean to be that?

"Young Flame?" Cyril broke Flame from his trance, he faltered in his flight before looking to Cyril "We're coming up on Warfang, so get ready to land," Cyril said, flapping ahead to catch up with Volteer and Terrador. Flame looked down and his eyes grew wide. Down below him was where they were going, Warfang. The massive city dwarfed the small village of Thorp in every way imaginable: stone buildings instead of tents, hundreds of people instead of dozens, and were those walls!?

Flame squinted and could make out more than dragons looking back at him and the Guardians in the sky: cheetahs, atlawans, and moles all looked to see the newcomer. Flame watched the Guardians begin to dive and he followed. Noticing that they were landing by a building that had more length than height, columns of stone adorned the walkway, leading to a large rectangular section of the building, at the end was a massive open roof room with a statue he couldn't quite make out in the center, finally in the back of the open room was a smaller, closed off room. Flame landed by the Guardians, who were waiting by the entrance for Flame.

"Welcome to the Warfang Temple!" Cyril exclaimed, Terrador was already heading inside, Volteer stayed beside the ice dragon as he continued "After the Dark Master took possession of the old one, we decided it best to construct a new one alongside the rest of the reconstruction of Warfang."

"I think I remember hearing that...he hoisted it up in the sky, right?" Flame asked, chuckling "What, did the old one have that darkness smell?"

Cyril smirked "How about it plummeted to the ground and shattered once the Dark Master was defeated?"

The smile faded from Flame's face "Oh…"

"Oh not to worry, young Flame," Volteer continued "Those old, decrepit and ancient ruins were falling apart long before the Dark Master got his claws on it. Besides, we were able to save, excavate, refurbish and uh…" Volteer caught himself "If you'd look down the way, you'll see the dragon statue from the old temple in the courtyard. The old one was constructed in the visage of the Dark Master, and we decided to have it resemble our fallen friend, your father, Ignitus." Flame blinked and glanced quickly down the way, lo and behold, the statue he saw earlier from above was the dragon statue, the image of his father looking down upon any who enter the courtyard with a warm and gentle smile. This was the first time he had ever seen Ignitus, his father, and yet, a sense of familiarity lingered in the back of his mind.

Flame's wing instinctively went to cover his mother's satchel once more.

"It's still only afternoon, young Flame, how about you familiarize yourself with Warfang? Get yourself acquainted with the layout and what not. Just be sure to be back at a reasonable time, tomorrow we start your training." Volteer and Cyril took their leave sticking close to each other and discussing something. Flame was left all by himself for the day in a brand new place with free reign to explore.

It was probably the first time Flame genuinely smiled since yesterday morning.

* * *

As Flame traveled the streets of Warfang, his head was constantly turned up, looking up to the large buildings that seemed to scrape at the sky. Dragons also freely flew overhead, it was nothing like he had ever seen before; most dragons in Thorp walked everywhere considering it was so small and close together. He would constantly have to look down and apologize to the passerby's he accidentally bumped into. His gaze turned street level so he wouldn't run into as many people, mesmerized by the fronts of many of the stone buildings, flowers and trinkets of many colors decorated the storefronts. Citizens of many races zoomed by him with a place to be as he meandered, letting the flow of citizens guide him around.

Sometime later, Flame found himself at the edge of a park somewhere in the middle of the city. He decided to take a break and step into the grass and relax, if he closed his eyes and tuned out the bustle of the city, he could pretend he was back in his village.

The sharp sound of construction shot his eyes open as he found the source, a group of earth dragons and moles were reconstructing a mostly destroyed building. Flame looked around, noticing that around the park were more dragons and creatures of different creeds working on destroyed buildings. He could see deeper into the city and more buildings were under construction.

'_I almost forgot Warfang was the center of the war…'_ Flame thought to himself '_It's still recovering after all this time.'_ Flame walked deeper into the park.

"Heads up, fire boy!"

Flame's head snapped to the front as he heard the voice, a strange gray metal discus flying at his head. He inhaled sharply and jumped back, paws out to grab the object in instinct. He didn't realize his breathing had changed in those few seconds and he calmed down, inspecting the object. He realized it was some sort of metal disc with a symbol on the front.

"Hey, quick thinking," Flame looked back up as he heard the voice that warned him in the first place. A female electric dragon was running towards him as a male ice dragon and earth dragon were shortly behind "Can we have it back now?"

"Uh…" Flame nodded, watching as he held it and it fitted naturally into the curve of his forearm. He twisted his arm and with a flick of the wrist he released, the discus flying fast and straight at the electric dragon. She was quick to hop onto her hind legs and catch it with her front paws.

"Whoa, good arm," the electric dragon said chuckling, turning back around to her game with the other dragons "Take care, fire boy!" the female dragons tossed the disc to a couple of dragons at the other end of the park, the earth and ice dragon acknowledged him with a nod and jumped back into the game.

Flame watched the other dragons for a few moments longer, the dragons tossed the disc around to each as they moved around the field in some kind of game. Finally, he continued with his exploration of the city.

* * *

Flame took some time to memorize the path from the temple to the market district, to the park, and to some places that served food he liked. By the time he felt like he had the path to the important places figured out he made it back to the temple while the sun was still in the sky and beginning its descent, pink and orange adorned the sky as he made it up the steps into the temple. He realized he hadn't actually investigated the temple yet and that now seemed like a good time to get settled in.

Flame walked down the walkway into the first square of the building, he noticed a number of doors going across each side of the room. He found a sign on the wall beside him 'Living Quarters'. Flame looked back and forth between each side as he continued walking forward.

'_So do I just pick one or…-?' _Flame asked himself as he stopped, noticing at the very end of the room, four rooms, two on each side, were adorned with symbols of elements. To the right were the symbols for electricity and ice, on the left were the symbols for fire and earth '_Guess that answers that.' _Flame sighed as he stepped up to his door and opened it.

Flame took his mother's satchel off and carefully dropped it beside the door. He looked inside and grimaced slightly. He expected the rooms of the temple to be MORE furnished than the tents back in his village, but no: a pillow and a desk were all that were in the room. There was an oblong circle in the stone wall to act as a window. After realizing how little was in the room, he picked up the satchel and decided to put it somewhere else, anywhere else to make the room look more full.

Flame looked at the red pillow first, cocking his head in confusion. He had slept on the floor of a tent with a mat all of his life, he wondered what it was like to sleep on a pillow. He shrugged and hopped right into the center of the pillow.

"Oooheheheh!" Flame melted as he felt the downy pillow envelop him, rumbling in his throat as he snuggled deeper into the pillow. Maybe this room wasn't too bad. From the pillow, he looked at the desk and struggled to get out.

After minutes of struggling and flopping to the floor, he approached the desk. It only had some parchment and an inkwell with a feather, nothing else. Looking in the drawers revealed nothing inside. Flame thought for a moment before quickly going to the satchel, pulled out the letters from his parents and delicately placed them in the top shelf of the desk.

That's when Flame noticed the red tail just leaving the door frame out of the corner of his eyes. He blinked and moved to the door, ensuring that he wasn't just seeing things. He was correct, moving deeper into the temple was the shadowed form of a mysterious figure; the sound of two footsteps and a staff were distinct as the figure moved deeper inside.

'_Are...visitors allowed?_' Flame thought to himself as he looked to the other doors of the guardians. They were still closed, and it looked like they weren't going to open to meet this mysterious figure. Flame looked back, swallowing as he stepped out of his room and followed the shadowed person.

They moved passed the living quarters, passed the training ground and even deeper inside. Flame realized this was the final room that he had seen on his flight here, the guardians didn't mention this room though. The mysterious figure stopped at the door to the last room and placed their hand on the door. Flame decided that was enough.

"Excuse me?" Flame said, trying to sound stern as he stepped out of the corner he was in.

"What!?" the figure said, pivoting to face Flame with a point of his staff, the tip of the figure's staff suddenly alight with a light pink glow, illuminating the space around them. The red scales, long purple curved horns, wings and scaly muzzle confirmed to Flame that this was a dragon, but what stood out to Flame the most was the fact that this dragon walked on two legs. The dragon was also wearing a necklace and two golden armbands. Hardened dark red eyes stared back at Flame. The two looked each over for quite some time before the dragon's expression softened, his staff returning to the floor as the pink glow softened enough for the two to still see each other "Oh, you must forgive me for that, you startled me," the dragon smiled as he exhaled with relief, looking down at Flame.

"Hey, it's alright. I just saw someone walking through, wanted to make sure it wasn't an intruder or something, y'know?" Flame chuckled, still tense from being around the strange dragon.

"I understand entirely, but surely you are aware that the temple is welcome to all at any time, yes?" the dragon asked, stepping away from the door to face Flame. Flame chuckled as he looked away.  
"I guess I didn't know. Sorry about that." Flame said with a bow, embarrassment washing over him "I'll just uh...let you go."

"Now wait a moment…" the dragon said, making Flame stop and turn to face him once more "Hmm, you're not from Warfang are you?" the dragon said "Yes, I don't believe I've seen you around."

Flame blinked in surprise, was it really that obvious? He smiled a weak smile and nodded "Uh, yeah. Thorp, up north."

"Ah I see…" the dragon said, rubbing at his chin in thought "Well, this is certainly quite a change for you, is it not? From a small little village to the big city...ah...but where are my manners…" the dragon placed his hand upon his chest "My name is Red."

"Flame." Flame responded with a smile. Red's expression shifted to surprise as he looked over Flame once more.

"Flame…?" Red spoke in a strange tone before the smile returned to him "Ah, so you must be Ignitus' boy then, yes?" Flame flinched as he heard that name again. Had word spread that fast? Was that something that was going to follow him now?

Flame nodded with a slow breath "Yeah, that's me. I take it you've heard of me?" to his surprise, Red shook his head.

"Not quite, but I was aware that my brother had a son," Red said with a playful grin, allowing Flame to sit on his word.

"Brother?" Flame repeated, processing. Finally, he cracked a smile of disbelief "You're… You're my uncle?" and he saw Red nod. He began to realize he wouldn't be so alone here. He still had family to talk to, to ask about his parents, coming here was starting to become better and better.

"So what brings my nephew to Warfang? Have you come to see the sights?" Red asked in a calm tone.

"Heheh, nah. Starting tomorrow, I'm training to become the next Fire Guardian…-?" Flame watched Red's expression weaken at that "Uh, yeah. If I'm being honest I don't know what exactly they're expecting from me but I gotta do it...for… dad, right?" Flame chuckled, trying to get Red to smile again. Instead, Red began to leave the temple "Was it something I said?" Flame asked Red.

"I believe you've said enough, Flame," Red said in a cold tone, a far cry from the warm and gentle nature from before "I should be going now."

Flame wracked his mind trying to think of just what he said that made Red jump in mood so suddenly. Flame took a few steps and walked in front of him "Wait, I...I don't know what's wrong but...we're a family, right? Shouldn't we...I don't know talk?"

"Should we?" Red turned to face Flame, still walking away "Well, there is something you should know then." with that, Red was close enough Flame's ear to whisper. The softest voice came from Red, and yet to Flame, his soft words echoed on and shook his core.

"I don't speak to bastards." and with that, Red was gone, walking away and leaving Flame to sit in his struck silence, maw open to grasp at words that were buzzing around his head. Flame finally found the strength to turn and face Red, but he was already turning away at the main entrance; he was gone.

Flame felt weak, his head hung low as he tried to process just what Red meant by that. He had so many questions about the kind of dragons his parents were, and now, there were many many more.


	5. The Training

Flame didn't sleep well that night, as comfortable as the pillow was in the temple, he couldn't shake the venomous words that Red had said last night. His own uncle, family, had no qualms calling him a bastard. What did he do to deserve being called that, or rather, what did Ignitus do for Flame to earn that title?

His head turned to the door as he heard it open, Terrador peeked his head in and acknowledged Flame "Ah, you're awake. Training time." and as quickly as he came, he left.

"Good morning to you too…" Flame retorted a second too slow, Terrador wasn't there anymore. He sighed and rolled out of the pillow on to the floor, taking a moment to yawn and stretch. His body was stiff and sluggish as he continued to limber himself up and make his way to the door.

Looking up at the sky, Flame could see the dark blues of night being pushed away by the warming orange of the sun. He yawned in annoyance, the second day in a row he woke up and the sun wasn't at least in the middle of the sky. As he walked to the training room, he recalled how Ember, the Chief, hell, most of the village of Thorp was awake before he was, and he loved it. He always felt well rested and ready for the day while everyone else still had a layer of grogginess beneath them. He imagined that most everyone back over there was still asleep. He could just imagine slipping back into his and Ember's tent, seeing her peaceful, sleeping form and curling up right next to her and going back to sleep, not feeling so alone.

"Good morning, young Flame," Volteer said in a pleasant chirp of a tone. Flame didn't have to think too hard to know Volteer was a morning dragon. Cyril was right beside him, looking like death warmed over but still attentive enough to be awake; it almost looked like he would fall into Volteer's side and sleep again. Terrador was on the side of the room, watching Flame with a stern expression; that was one dragon Flame still couldn't figure out.

Flame managed to muster a nod to acknowledge Volteer, sitting beside the two of them and opting to disregard Terrador for now "So what's on the menu today?" Flame yawned.

"Well, being your first day, we decided we would run you through a battery of tests, see what you can and can't do, see what needs improvement and...hrmhrm…" Volteer cleared his throat, catching that he was rambling once again.

"Young Flame, do you have any fighting experience?" Cyril asked, managing to wake Flame up a little more as he had to think about his answer.

"Well...er…" Flame could answer that question easily: no. But he struggled to find a nicer way to put it. He would play fight all the time with the little dragons of Thorp when he was younger, he could breathe fire well enough, but he had a funny feeling that wouldn't cut it with the Guardian's of the Elements.

"I'm…" Flame began "...a little out practice?"

The others could hear Terrador snort amusingly from the other side of the room.

"Well...er…" Cyril said "I suppose that's why we're starting with training, yes?" Cyril yawned as he, Volteer and Terrador took a few steps, leaving Flame alone in the training circle. Flame braced himself as the earth around him began to shake, the statue of Ignitus in the center beginning to spiral down into the ground, leaving Flame in a flat training circle. Flame watched as two training dummies made of straw spawned in the center, each wielding thick wooden clubs.

"Let's see you channel that inner fire dragon, young Flame!" Volteer said.

"Yes, let's see if you can make Ignitus proud," Terrador added.

'Great…' Flame thought 'Two things I don't know how to do…'

* * *

The two dummies slowly shambled over to Flame and slowly brought up their clubs to strike him. Flame simply jumped out of their way and saw the clubs slam into the earth below.

'I know I was afraid...but what is this for, whelps?' Flame was smiling a little easier as he jumped and charged the first dummy down to the ground. The dummy's eyes stopped glowing red as it stopped struggling beneath Flame's weight 'Okay that wasn't too bad, now for…-!' before Flame could complete the thought, the second dummy had come up and struck Flame in the side with his club. Flame crumbled beneath the blow and was sent skidding across the floor. Flame huffed as he got back up, slowly hunching over and getting ready for another pounce. When Flame did jump, he realized the dummy had been anticipating that, and already moved out of the way, making Flame jump at the air beside the dummy as it prepared itself for another shot.

'Oh shi…-!' and Flame was struck once again in the side, rolling and skidding across the ground as he tried to get up, but the dummy was already on top of him, ready to bring the club down upon Flame's body. Before the final blow was struck, the red glow from the dummy's eyes vanished as it dematerialized, leaving Flame alone on the floor. Flame groaned as he got up, looking at the disappointment in Volteer and Cyril's eyes, and the scowl on Terrador. He realized that they had called off the dummy "So…" Flame needed to fill the silence with something "Not good, huh?"

"Young Flame, that was the first level, meant for the whelps to start training," Cyril said with a hint of disbelief in his tone.

"Why that barbaric, archaic and...and dare I say pitiful!" Volteer admitted "There is more to fighting than just running and charging at things. What did they teach you in Thorp?" he asked.

Terrador's silence spoke volumes as Flame felt smaller than he already did "I'm… I'm sorry, they didn't really teach us how to fight back in the village," Flame said rather meekly, in a small voice that almost didn't sound like his own.

Cyril inhaled and exhaled slowly "It's okay, young Flame, I suppose that is why you're training, yes?" the disappointment never went away from his face as he turned to Volteer "What is the next test?"

"Ah yes!" Volteer perked up, for everyone's sake "So we've seen what you can do physically…" Volteer cleared his throat "But now we will see what you can do with your element. For the first part, we want you to maintain a torrent of fire for as long as you can manage."

Flame nodded as he concentrated 'Breathe fire...I can do that," Flame breathed deeply, moving the heat from his flustered cheeks to his belly, letting it slowly build up with each breath he inhaled, before he turned his head up and let loose the jet of fire. It towered above all of them in a mixture of whites, oranges and reds

"Impressive!" Cyril perked up again, even Terrador was nodding slightly in approval.

"I should say so, the cone range is only slightly below average, but the intensity of the heat, and the colors are all wonderful. Very few dragons at your age can call upon white flames for this consistency," Volteer continued as Flame finally stopped, gasping a little as he turned to the Guardians "And the time…slightly above average! Your father could also breathe fire like this for long durations. I'd say nice job overall."

Flame felt an odd rush as Volteer said that, 'just like his father'. He still wasn't too sure how to feel about being compared to someone like that "Well uh...thanks!"

"However, young Flame, now we must prepare for part two of the element test…" Volteer said, as a number of targets appeared in the circle with Flame "We want you to destroy these targets without moving from where you stand."  
"Yes, this way we can see how effectively you can utilize the fireball technique," Cyril said, the other dragons taking steps back as to now be struck.

Flame gulped audibly, breathing fire was something he could do easily, and well enough apparently. But fireballs was something he could never get down, even from watching the Chief do it back in the village. Flame breathed deeply, summoning more fire into him and preparing to condense it into a fireball to destroy the targets. He closed his eyes, concentrating and then opened his mouth once more as the fireball came from his mouth...and landed a few feet in front of him. It didn't even have the courtesy to explode afterwards, it just crumpled and fell apart into smoldering crisps. Flame felt the heat return to his cheeks as he dared a glance at the Guardians, concern and disappointment on their faces once again as they exchanged glances with each other. An adolescent dragon, struggling with what he assumed whelps could handle with ease.

"Er, well at least you can make a fireball, that's...progress…" Cyril attempted to smile, Flame sighed; that's just what he needed: pity.

"The last test is flight, a dragon and a guardian should be agile, dexterous and a master of the sky," Volteer was once again quick to change the change subject to save Flame from shame. All of the undestroyed targets disappeared, then, above all of them, a number of rings appeared in the sky "Fly through all of them as quick as you can."  
Flame looked above in disbelief, his muzzle quivering as he looked back at the Guardians "Just...flying?"

"Yes." Terrador said bluntly.

"No trying to hit stuff while flying?" Flame continued "No, breathing fire on stuff while flying? Just flying?"

"Well, er...that comes later…" Volteer looked to Cyril to try and understand what Flame was talking about "But for now, yes, just flying."

"Great." and then Flame had launched himself into the sky with a single flap of his wings and a jump, clearing the first ring with only the jump.

'Why didn't they start with this one?' Flame was laughing as he flapped and flipped through the air, passing through each ring with ease. From below he could see the bewildered look on all of the Guardians faces. He could admit he wasn't a fighter, it hurt his pride to be criticized for his element, but flying, flying he understood.

"Impressive," Terrador said, watching Flame blaze through the flying trail, passing through each ring and moving about the air like there was no trouble at all.

"Hehehah! When you've flown through the end of the world. You can fly through anything! I was considered one of the best flyers in Thorp!" Flame stopped to rest on a ring for a moment before flipping and gliding through another.

"I say! I do believe we've seen quite enough, young Flame! Good show!" Cyril smiled as Volteer nodded in approval.

"Got it!" Flame smiled as he jumped and glided down to meet the others. Feeling much better about training now, sure, it was bumpy to start, but the impressed looks on the Guardian's faces was relieving; at least he could get one thing right today "Could Ignitus fly like that?" Flame asked with a laugh as he was closing in on the ground.

"Ignitus was more of the fighter, not the flyer. That title belonged to me…" a new voice sounded from outside the training room. The others turned to see who it was, but the familiar sound of two paws walking and the tap of a staff was familiar to Flame. He suppressed an inhale as he saw Red walk into the training room, who was already being intercepted by Terrador. Suddenly, what happened last night flashed into his head for a second, and he lost the rhythm of flapping his wings, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"Young Flame! Are you alright?" Cyril asked, with Volteer beside him to help him up. But Flame ignored them, standing up and walking over to Terrador and Red.

Red's eyes flashed to Flame for just a moment before returning his gaze to Terrador "So you get my brother's illegitimate son to take my position, is that it? Do you think I will bow so easily to your will, Guardians?" Red growled.

"A position that you do not own, may I remind you." Terrador growled back at Red, interrupted by Flame approaching.

"Red. We're family right? Why are you acting this way? What did I do?" Flame tried to start talking, but saw the rage build in Terrador as he turned back to Red.

"You told him," Terrador stated more than asked.

"Someone had to, if you weren't going to." Red huffed, tendrils of smoke coming from his nostrils "And what does it matter to you? I can sense the anger you feel towards the boy, Terrador. Why let someone you despise come and take my place? All of your places in due time?" Red grinned a dark grin as Terrador flinched from that statement, Volteer and Cyril were scowling at Red now, growling harder as Flame stepped closer.

"...Terrador?" Flame asked, a tone of surprise in the back of his throat as he tried not to believe Red "He's...lying, right?" but the fact that Terrador did not try to correct Red, defend Flame, or even change his expression was all the proof Flame needed. All Terrador could do was look down with a sigh.

"Leave. Let us handle Red," Terrador said.

"But…-!?" Flame began, but Cyril placed a wing on Flame.

"Come back in a few hours, we'll have him gone by then," Volteer promised. Flame looked between Volteer and Cyril, then back to Terrador and Red. He suddenly realized just how small he was when compared to the adult dragons. It felt like everyone towered over him as he swallowed the lump in the back of his throat.

"...Okay." Flame managed, sluggish to leave the training room. He tried to sneak a glance at Red just to try and get an explanation, but as he looked down on Flame, he saw he would not speak to him now. Flame made it to the main entrance before taking flight.

* * *

And then there were four. Terrador stared down Red as Volteer and Cyril were right behind the earth dragon. Red looked between the three dragons as he began talking.

"Indulge me, Guardians...why do you cling to these traditions of old?" Red grinned "When one Guardian dies, regardless of how long the others were in position, they must all be replaced with the dragons of a new generation." Red huffed as he pointed to himself "You could save yourself so much trouble...so much heartache...if you just let me step in. And then you all can stay Guardians for the generations to come, as it should be. I could be the Guardian of Fire," Red said, but the others were unchanged.

"Because, Red…" Terrador met Red's gaze "It is more than just a position. It is a responsibility. To be peacekeepers of the land, defenders of all, protectors of the next generation of dragons and others alike. We all must abide by the rules of the Guardians, and so we all must choose worthy successors to the Guardians. It is not something you can simply take for your own, it must be earned!"

"Bah! Clinging to your traditions will make you lose your positions, your powers," Red said, his grip on his staff growing tighter "Guardians live for generations, almost a millennia, by my accounts. Yet you...all of you, have barely lived to 100 years," Red chortled, seeing the hardened gazes of the Guardians falter "Think of everything you will miss because of my brother's foolish mistake; he left the grotto defenseless against Malefor's invasion, he got himself killed…" Red cracked the smallest of grins as he heard Volteer and Cyril growl at that last sentence "Ignitus took everything away from you, but I can give it all back. All you have to do is just say yes," Red could see the expression of contemplation on the Guardian's faces.

Terrador roared and slammed his paw into the ground, causing the whole temple and the other dragons to shake and brace themselves "You will not stand to manipulate me or the others, Red. We all believed the Grotto to be safe from the Dark Master's forces, he sacrificed himself so that we may be here today. Ignitus was a true guardian, something that you could never understand. Now. Leave," Terrador said, the earth in a constant rumble as he spoke to Red.

Red glared at Terrador for a few moments more, then turned around with a huff of defeat, he stopped for only a moment though, turning his head to face Terrador "My brother was a true guardian you say...then what does that make Flame?" Red turned around and continued walking away before the other Guardians could give an answer.

When Red was finally gone, Terrador sighed in relief, turning to the other Guardians "When Flame gets back, get him back to training, right away. I know this isn't over for Red, and we must prepare Flame for the worse." he said, not bothering to listen to the other's objections as he stormed out of the training room


	6. The Game

Flame had flown to the park district of Warfang, needing a nice quiet place to concentrate. It was afternoon by the time he touched down and began walking, trying to make sense of everything that happened.

Training? While he breezed through the flying section, his mind still lingered back to the fighting parts. He couldn't handle the weakest dummies, he couldn't make a fireball, and the Guardians weren't the best at hiding what they thought of that. His mind wandered to what his father would think of that, and how he probably breezed through those things when he was young.

Red? His only family alive that he knew of and he wanted nothing to do with him. He knew his uncle was hiding something about him, the cutting words he said to him last night lingered in his mind. He needed someone to talk to about that, just to hear someone else to say how much of an asshole he is, but Ember was back in Thorp, he had no other family, and he felt like the Guardian's wouldn't listen.

Flame kept his head down, looking at his paws as he clenched and unclenched his talons and sighed.

"Look out, fire boy!"

Flame's head perked up again to the familiar nickname from yesterday and what it meant, lo and behold, that same metal discus was flying straight for him. He pivoted his body and flapped backwards, giving himself enough space to comfortably catch it in his paws.

"Terrus, I gave you plenty of warning this time! How did you miss again!?" a familiar voice yelled. Flame saw the same female electric dragon from yesterday approaching him.

"Throwing it, and then saying my name when it's inches from me is not 'plenty of warning'!" a male earth dragon walking alongside the electric dragon countered as they approached Flame. Flame handed them the discus back in silence before the electric dragon spoke up.

"Wait, you're the same fire boy from yesterday, aren't you? Haha, ah I'm sorry about that, you okay?" she asked. Flame nodded as the two looked at Flame for a moment "You know...come to think of it. Our team's one dragon down, wanna jump in? Look's like you got the reaction time down, I'm sure the rest will come, heheh," she said.

After the morning Flame had, he should have said no. He woke up hours earlier than normal, blew it in training, had his uncle demean him more, and the Guardians sent him away to deal with his uncle. He could have easily said no and be done with them, just to let him sulk.

"...Sure," Flame finally managed with a half attempt at a smile. The other dragons nodded as the earth dragon turned to the electric dragon.

"I'll go let the others know we got a new teammate," and with that he was running to a group of two dragons. Flame and the electric dragon walked back together.

"So what are you doing just sulking around the park, anyways?" the electric dragon commented, looking at Flame with a small smile.

"I uh...didn't have a good morning, I guess. Just needed a place to clear my head," Flame said.

"Oh! Well don't I feel bad then. You needed to clear your head, and I almost took it off," the electric dragon laughed, even Flame found himself chuckling a little at her joke "Name's Electra, by the way."

"Flame," he answered, making Electra raise an eyebrow

"A fire dragon...named Flame? A little on the snout, don't you think?" Electra asked with a smile.

"Says Electra, the electric dragon," Flame retorted, and Electra laughed.

"Okay, fair enough," Electra picked up her pace to join her teammates, Flame was short behind, walking into the group of two more dragons: the earth dragon from before, and a female ice dragon.

"Alright, quick rundown of the team," Electra began, turning to the earth dragon "You've met Terrus." he nodded in response. She turned to the ice dragoness "Crystal." she waved in return. She pointed to herself "I just said it." and then she pointed to Flame "And fire boy is Flame." She broke the huddle and pointed to the other side of the park "All we gotta do is get the disc to the other side of the field, keeping the other dragons in mind." Flame could see the other four dragons at the other end, huddling up as well "Sounds easy enough, right?"

"I guess so…-?!" Flame said, getting ready to spread his wings as Terrus spoke up.

"Oh. And no flying."

Flame flinched as he put his wings back at his side 'The one thing I'm good at…' he muttered. He approached the team again.

"They have to go soon, so this is the last down, and we're tied. Let's see if we can't break that tie. Ready guys?" Terrus asked the group, earning nods and cheers as Flame watched, unsure of what exactly to do. Suddenly this seemed like a horrible idea.

"Hey…-?" Before Flame could express his concern, a familiar flying discus flew across the field towards him and the others. Electra grabbed it and started running towards the other dragons, Terrus and Crystal were short behind, leaving Flame all by himself.

* * *

Flame followed a half second later, assuming that running towards the other end of the field was at least a good start. He kept a look at where the others were, watching the disc go between Electra, Terrus and Crystal as the other dragons tried to catch the disc mid-flight. Electra charged forward inch by inch, delighting in how the other dragons were afraid to get trampled by her. Terrus was moving smoothly between dragons, bobbing and weaving as he continued moving forward. No one ever paid attention to Crystal, hanging on the outside of the scuffle, and when she caught the disc she was able to go unimpeded for a few dozen yards before the opponents realized she was getting away. When she was getting cornered, she panicked and tossed backwards towards the others. To Flame's horror, he was the one who caught it, and then all eyes fell to him.

'Just run...that's what she said, right?' Flame gritted as he began running where Crystal was, thanks to the ground she had covered, he and the others were already halfway across the field. He was able to get far, but then the other dragons began closing in on him. In a split second as he looked at them, he was reminded of training earlier that day, how he had just charged at the dummies and how it went so wrong. The disappointment in the Guardians...

And Flame froze.

"What!?" He could hear Terrus shouting.

"C'mon, move, fire boy!" Electra called out. Flame's breath caught in his throat as he panicked, he disappointed the guardians, now he was going to disappoint the dragons that bothered to show him kindness. He remembered how recklessly he charged at the dummies and how they easily they threw him to the ground for being so careless. He was beginning to feel weak in the legs.

And then on instinct, he jumped back a few feet. The dragon that was about to pounce him was greeted with the hard earth as they slid a few feet. The next dragon ran at Flame and he sidestepped, the dragon threw too much of his weight at nothing that was there now, and tumbled to the ground with a roll. The next dragon was going low for Flame's leg, and he jumped over it barely, the last dragon went high and Flame continued his movement with a crouched slide, making the dragon land on top of the others in a pile. Flame blinked in disbelief as his jaw hung open slightly.

"Run, Flame!" Electra roared at Flame, remembering he was in the middle of a game and that the other dragons were beginning to get up and move again. Flame cursed under his breath and began moving again, running as fast as he could to the other end of the field. He had to great of a lead, and his teammates were stalling the other dragons enough so that he made it to the others. He assumed that when Electra and Terrus hollered and the other dragons groaned he had gone far enough and stopped. He stood there catching his breath as the dragons laughed and shook the other's paws after talking about the game. The other dragons began flying off as Electra, Terrus, and Crystal approached him.

"Jeez, you had me going with that 'stop in place' stunt, Flame. I really thought you were stuck," Electra ribbed Flame, who staggered.

"The way you moved, man, I've never seen anyone do that!" Terrus said.

"This was your first time playing right? You did good, Flame." Crystal spoke for the first time since he had met her, Flame realized.

"Yeah, but it can't be all praise. If I may, you were moving a little stiff. Maybe if you wanna meet up again another time, we can teach how to be a little more...nimble…" Terrus smiled assuredly as Flame was slowly beginning to smile too, why couldn't the Guardian talk to him like this?

Flame's eyes shot open as he remembered the Guardians and his training. He couldn't even take on two dummies for whelps, but four dragons that had charged him and he managed to dodge them all. He cracked an odd grin as realization hit him.

"Flame, you alright?" Terrus asked "Was it something I said?" Flame finally snapped back and turned to the others.

"No it's just...I think I just figured something out. I gotta get going!" Flame began running and jumped up to fly, heading back to the temple with an idea.

* * *

Flame touched down at the base of the temple and ran inside, heading straight for the training room and nearly crashing into Volteer and Cyril as they were heading out.

"Oh!" Volteer gasped in surprise watching Flame have to skid and turn to avoid them "Young Flame, you're back, we didn't expect to see you back this soon. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, just fine. Can you get the dummies back?" Flame asked, a little jumpy.

"You want to train, now?" Cyril asked, turning to Volteer "Er, I think after today we should…-?"

"Please? I think I figured it out," Flame said.

"A dragon that is actually excited, compelled and desiring to train...I don't think I've seen many of those…" Volteer stepped in, chuckling softly and placing a wing on Cyril's back "It sounds like Young Flame has something he would like to show us," Volteer nodded and turned to Flame "Step in the circle."

Flame stepped in, crouching and ready as the two dummies from before spawned, both bearing clubs and ready to attack. Flame and the dummies circled for a few moments, expecting the other to make a move, but the all stood their ground, moving around the training room.

"Young Flame…-?" Cyril spoke up, but Volteer placed a paw on his, letting the fight take place.

'Looks like I have to get them to attack first,' Flame thought as he thought of a way to get the dummies to attack. He began charging at the two dummies again, keeping an eye on the dummy he was charging at.

"Oh dear, not this again…" Volteer muttered.

But as the first dummy raised his club to bring down on the charging Flame, Flame skidded to a halt with just enough time to watch the club come down on the earth and miss him completely. Then, Flame jumped up and brought his full weight upon the dummy, crushing it.

'Don't forget the sec…-!" Flame thought as once the club at his side and struck him. Flame began to skid on the floor bt adjusted himself into a roll, and he landed on his feet. He looked over at Cyril and Volteer, they seemed mildly impressed by his moves so far, even if he did take another hard hit 'C'mon…' Flame thought as he crouched low again, he charged at the dummy again, hoping to goad this dummy like the last one, however, the dummy sidestepped Flame and attempted to bring his club down on his back. What the dummy didn't expect though was that Flame's tail was beginning to strike at the legs, causing the dummy and trip and fall. Flame stopped and turned around, jumping and digging his claws into the torso of the dummy until the eyes stopped glowing.

Flame had done it, the two dummies were slain and he was alone in the ring. He turned back to the Guardians, who were stepping into the ring. A smile was beginning to spread across his face as he expected to hear them say he did well.

"That was...unorthodox. I must admit that I have never seen a fire dragon utilize this type of fighting style," Volteer said.

"I don't think I've seen any dragon fight like that. I thought Spyro's style was archaic…" Cyril turned to Volteer.

"Yeah...I thought I did great too…" Flame huffed, half joking as the Guardians said the exact opposite of what he thought they would say. Cyril and Volteer blinked as they turned back to face Flame.

"Er...what we mean is. We were just not expecting, anticipating and prepared for Ignitus' son to develop a fighting style quite like you have," Volteer offered, but the fading smile on Flame's face made him realize that what he said did not help "Er…".

"Yes, not like Ignitus at all…" the three dragons turned to the entrance of the training room and saw Terrador walking towards them. He regarded Flame with a nod "Your father was a master of the battlefield, second only to me, his combat style was very much traditional fire dragons style. Nothing like what you presented."

"Is this pep talk supposed to be helping me?" Flame's smile and pride in defeating the dummies was flattened as the other dragons spoke to him like this. Not like other fire dragons, not like his father, just what he needed to hear.

"I wasn't finished." Terrador continued "While your style is...interesting. I think we can still teach you to make the most of it." Terrador said, making Flame, Volteer and Cyril look at him in surprise.

"Did Red do something to you when I left?" Flame finally asked, making Terrador sigh, he turned around and left the training room.

"I will be in my quarters. You've earned yourself the rest of the day off, Flame. We will resume training tomorrow." and then he was gone.

Flame looked to Volteer and Cyril for an answer, but judging by the looks they shared with each other, they were just as lost.

"Well, er...I suppose you're all done for the day, do what you wish, young Flame," Cyril looked to Volteer, and they both made their way out of the training room.

Flame stood there all alone, thinking about what Terrador said, how he had spent most of his time ignoring him, but now here he was, encouraging Flame to continue forward. Flame looked back to the dragon statue that was slowly emerging from the ground. The visage of his father once again, looking down upon him with that gentle smile. Flame looked over the training ground, and knew what he had to do.

Flame made his way into his room and hopped into his pillow, sleep slowly beginning to take him away. He had a long day, after all.


	7. The Return of Legends

Flame was up bright and early once again for training, courtesy of the Guardians. Once again he woke up groggy and half asleep, but he had to wake up quick when the statue came down and the dummies appeared, five of them now, all barehanded and ready to attack Flame. Much to Flame's surprise, it was Terrador and Cyril who were sitting and watching him practice. While Cyril would give the occasional piece of advice to Flame, Terrador sat there, watching his movements carefully, and then speaking to him once the round had ended.

Flame jumped backwards as two dummies tried to grab for him, with a swipe of his tail, he crushed one between him and the other dummy as the other was sent sprawling across the floor. The next three tried to surround Flame and grab him from behind, but to their surprise, Flame jumped into the one behind him, not expecting the full force of the young dragon as it was flattened, that dummy was also incapacitated. The next two dummies tried to jump him, and while Flame dodged the first, the second managed to grab his flank. Flame struggled and kicked to break himself free, but it would not let go; even his tail was stuck and useless in the grip. The next dummy was approaching, preparing to strike Flame with his fists. Flame couldn't get out of the way in time, and the fists came down upon him. He roared in pain, these dummies could hit hard, even if they were training.

"That's enough," Terrador said, and the dummies dematerialized around him. Flame huffed and stood up "Now, what do you think happened?"

"Well I think that's obvious…" Flame spoke, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he spoke.

"Young Flame…-?" Cyril spoke, but Terrador moved his wing to stop Cyril.

"You know what I mean, Flame…" Terrador spoke calmly. Flame looked at Terrador for a few moments before looking down.

"Maybe...throwing myself at that one dummy wasn't the _best _idea…" Flame said "But I was surrounded, and you won't let me use my fire…-?" Terrador's passive glance was enough to silence Flame.

"I'm aware we asked you to not use your fire. But that is because we need to hone your physical combat. A dragon can't be just elemental magic and flying all the time."

Flame thought of his words, thinking of the discus game he played with the other dragons yesterday. He looked back to Terrador and nodded.

"Good. Now, again." Terrador spoke and five dummies appeared again. Flame crouched, ready to fight. Thinking about how weird it was that Terrador was speaking to him now, even if it was just for training.

"Focus, Flame!" Terrador's booming voice broke through his train of thought, and he realized that the five dummies had already begun their charge at Flame. Flame jumped back to get some space and hit the ground running, he slid between the legs of one dummy, his tail wrapping around a leg and giving it a firm yank. The dummy fell to the floor and Flame jumped on top, looking as the four remaining dummies moved to meet Flame. Flame saw one of them get close enough and jumped high, landing on its shoulders and letting his weight make it topple, he saw another dummy try and lunge for him and he jumped out of the way, making the two dummies land on top of each other in a heap. Flame kept low and ready to move as the last dummy stood, ready to strike.

"Good, always moving and letting the enemies make mistakes." In the occasional glimpses Flame made to the Guardian's, Terrador always seemed to be keeping his eyes on Flame, watching and observing him.

"Good morning, Cyril, Terrador, young Flame," Volteer said, walking into the training room. Flame almost looked to greet Volteer, but the dummy came swinging and he had to jump out of the way "How is he doing?"

"It's getting better...I think. I'm just not sure what to make of this style…" Cyril said, going back to watching Flame fight the last dummy.

"It's different, but I think Flame has found an interesting style to use," Terrador said, watching Flame and the last dummy duck and weave out of each other's way, trying to get in a hit. Volteer watched for a few moments before turning back to the Guardians.

"When he is done with this session, you should have him take a break. We're going to have visitors, and they'll be here soon."

"Visitors?" Flame stopped and regarded Volteer only to be back-handed to the ground by the dummy. Flame got up quick, growling.

"Indeed, young Flame," Volteer said "You'll be happy to know Thorp have joined the Warfang council and their Chief will be coming here."

"Chief!" Flame beamed, if the Chief was coming, maybe Ember was coming too! He turned around again, only for the dummy to tackle him to the ground. With a snarl and huff, he kicked the dummy off of him and stood back up.  
"Focus, Flame," Terrador said, cracking the smallest of smiles as Volteer continued.

"More than that. Spyro and Cynder are coming back with them. Thorp was more than happy to join our council. Spyro and Cynder didn't have to try too hard to convince them." Volteer chuckled.

"Spyro AND Cynder...whoa!" Flame stopped and looked to the Guardians again, remembering at the last moment he was still in a fight and jumped out of the way of the last dummy "Ha! Nice try, dummy!"

"Yes indeed, young Flame, they should all be here…-?" Volteer stopped and turned to the entrance "Ah, well that would appear to them all now. But...who is that pink dragon?"

'Ember!' Flame's face lit up at the thought. He noticed that the dummy was again approaching, but Flame was quick to swipe his tail and end the dummy. He was running out of the ring and to the entrance before the Guardians could even register what he had done. They looked at each other in surprise, then decided to go and greet the visitors.

Flame ran out to the entrance of the temple and couldn't help but smile. True to Volteer's word, there was Spyro and Cynder, but most importantly, there was the Chief and Ember. The three of them locked eyes and smiled. Flame ran towards Ember and she caught him in an embrace, the two of them nuzzling as the Guardians slowly made their way to the group.

"It's always nice to see a family reunited, isn't it?" Cyril smiled, the other Guardians smiling in agreement.

"Er, yeah. Something like that…" Flame muttered, exchanging a glance with Ember that made him smile.

"Gotta admit, it's a nice change of pace to not be attacked by admirers." Flame turned to face the new feminine voice that greeted them. The black dragoness that was Cynder was smiling at Flame and Ember.

"Yeah, there's only so much adulation we can take before you hear it all," the purple dragon that was Spyro chimed in as well, Flame and Ember let go of each other, "I feel like you know who we are. Who're you?" Spyro smiled back.

"This is young Flame, the guardian of fire in training from Thorp," Volteer said as Flame opened his mouth to introduce himself.

"What he said," Flame added.

"The guardian of fire, huh? So then you're Ignitus' son I heard about..." Spyro said in a somber tone, looking down for a moment to find the words to say, but he shook his head and looked back to Flame "Well, I hope you do a good job," Spyro said.

"Flame has done well enough so far, but it is still a work in progress," Terrador said with a nod. Flame snorted softly.

"Well, now that introductions are out of the way. How about we get everyone settled in. Flame, why don't you show the Chief and his daughter where they will be staying for the day. Spyro, Cynder, come with me," Volteer said, the group splitting accordingly. However, Spyro nudged Cynder.

"You go on without me. I just wanna check out the temple," Spyro said. Cynder cocked her head in confusion, but upon looking deeper into the temple, realization came to her.

"Take as long as you need, Spyro." Cynder smiled, nuzzling him. Spyro returned the gesture with a muted smile and the group split up.

* * *

Spyro kept his pace slow as the other dragons were being shown their rooms. When they were all in a room, Spyro picked up his pace, making his way deeper into the temple, towards the training room. As he entered the training room, his pace slowed down once again, his head tilted up high to look at the statue of Ignitus that rested in the center of the room. Spyro stopped at the edge of the training ring, then sat down. When the Guardians said they wanted to add one more surprise to the temple before he got back, he didn't think they meant this.

Words failed him as he looked upon the statue, tensing and relaxing his talons as his tail swished, trying to find exactly what to say. He breathed deeply before he started "Ignitus…" he breathed again "It's...been a while, hasn't it? A few months now..." it wasn't long before Spyro's eyes grew watery "Ah, sorry...I'm still not used to...this. You not being here…" Spyro looked down, he hadn't realized his paws shuffled so close; he was twiddling his talons.

"It's been non-stop around here...trying to get the world back to normal, trying to get all these different people, different ideals, working together. I don't know why...but fighting Malefor's army was easier than convincing some of these people to come together…" Spyro laughed again, but this one was louder, more meaningful "I… I never realized how much words could hurt just as much as getting hurt in combat. Maybe that's what Cynder felt like sometimes…" Spyro let that last part linger for a moment before he perked up again "Oh, how could I forget? Cynder has been doing a lot better. More people see her as a hero than what she did in the past. There's still a few that don't wanna let go of that, but I guess the damage done is still fresh. She and I are...ah...but...you already knew that, didn't you?" Spyro laughed again, tears welling in the corner of his eyes "...You were smart like that…" He blinked, and the tears streamed down his face.

"There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of you, everything you did...everything you taught me…" Spyro sniffled slightly, breathing deep to regain his composure, if only a little bit "I never got a chance to say good-bye...or thank you…" He looked back up at the statue once again "So...thank you...for everything...and goodbye…" Spyro stared at the statue for a moment longer, almost expecting an answer from the statue. But when he realized there wasn't going to be a response. He put his head down again, smiling as tears continued to flow "Thank you."

"That was a nice eulogy," Spyro flinched as he whipped his head around. Flame was at the entrance of the training room, smiling in a way that seemed familiar to the purple dragon.

"Flame!?" Spyro's voice cracked as he wiped away the tears. Flame was already taking a seat beside him before he regained his composure "I thought you were…" Spyro's voice was still cracking, he cleared his throat and tried again "Where are the others?" he managed to ask.

"We already got them settled in. The guardians and the Chief flew off to the capital, Ember and Cynder were talking to each other, last I checked," Flame looked back to Spyro, who nodded in response.

"How much of that did you hear?" Spyro asked.

"Enough." Flame answered "He really meant a lot to you, huh?"

"Yeah," Spyro said in a drained tone. There was a long pause before Flame spoke up again.

"What was he like?"

Spyro looked at Flame in disbelief "You never…-?" Flame shook his head before he could finish his sentence "Oh…" Spyro looked back to the statue, thinking "He...was a great dragon: wise, kind, powerful...but he had a wounded heart. He never said what...but even I could tell he thought about it a lot." He looked to Flame with a comforting smile "Maybe he thought about you?"

"You think?" Flame said, looking back to Spyro, who nodded.

Spyro stood up "I think I'm going to step out for a bit… It was nice talking to you. Hopefully we can chat later. Take care," Spyro said, standing up. Flame waved good-bye. Flame remained in the training room for a moment longer, looking back at the statue. He finally stood up and left the room, he needed to vent, and he knew just the dragon to turn to.

"Ember?" Flame opened the door to the room he showed to the Chief and Ember; he was surprised to not find Ember in the room, at least until he saw the pillow shuffling, light humming coming from within that warmed Flame's heart. He walked over to the pillow and cleared his throat, only for Ember's head to pop out of the pillow.

"Oooh, why didn't we have these back at the village? It's so much better than those crummy mats," Ember looked at Flame with a smile that, despite his mood, made him smile back. He merely leaned in for a kiss, which surprised Ember, but she quickly returned it. The two holding it for a few moments before pulling away "Hmm, good to see you too…" there was a pause, and her smile faded "What's wrong?" she asked struggling to get herself out of the pillow before flopping to the floor with a thud.

"Heh...where to begin…" Flame told her everything, from the guardians, the failure that was training day, the dragons at the park playing their game, to meeting his Uncle Red and the things he said. There was a long pause before either of them spoke "So...what do you think?" Flame asked Ember the two had eventually settled and lay next to each other.

Well, we'll get the easy one out of the way…" Ember began "I think Red is an asshole." and the two of them laughed.

"Ah, you have no idea how great it is to hear that from you," Flame retorted with a sigh of relief "Still...do you think what he said is true? I don't really wanna ask the Guardians...and Red..." Flame turned back to Ember.

Ember looked to him with uncertainty "I don't know, it's a pretty touchy subject. How do you just ask someone something like that?"

"Very carefully?" Flame responded.

Ember nudged him "Really though. Doesn't even sound like the Guardians even wanna talk about it."

Flame flopped over onto his back, and Ember placed her paw on his chest "So what am I gonna do…-?" the two of them heard the sound of dragons landing and talking amongst themselves; it was the Chief and the Guardians. Flame rolled back over and stood up as a familiar green head poked in to see the two of them.

"Hrm...ah, there you are, Flame. You'd best get some rest, we have something big planned tomorrow, bright and early," Terrador said, looking between Flame and Ember a moment longer before leaving the room.

"Great…" Flame huffed. Ember stood up as well, nuzzling Flame.

"I guess the best thing you can do is rest on it. Maybe you'll think of something," Ember said. Despite his mood, Flame returned the gesture with a smile.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," Flame said, kissing Ember on the cheek "Thanks for listening, Ember. Love you."  
"Love you too," Ember said with a smile, watching Flame leave the room. Flame was slow to make it back to his room and hopped into his pillow, his eyes grew heavy and his breathing slowed, but despite that, his mind wandered to the feeling of Ember sleeping beside him like they had before.

* * *

When Flame awoke, he was no longer in the temple. He found himself in a place that he had not seen for months; the hum of crystals and magic, the familiar blue tone of his surroundings, the walls of books that went farther than Flame could see, the massive hourglass that lay in the center of the room. This was the Chronicler's Lair.

"Yeah…" Flame muttered, getting up "Just what I need…" Flame yawned and stretched as his grogginess subsided and his curiosity settled in. It had been a long time since he was summoned here for the first time. He looked around, trying to find the Chronicler so he could get an explanation.

"Ah, you're awake," as if on cue, the familiar, faint voice of the chronicler sounded from behind him. He turned and met him but much to his disappointment, his muzzle was stuck in a book, and when that book was moved out of the way, another quickly came to hide his face "Have a seat, Flame. We have much to discuss." the Chronicler was quick with him.

Flame hid his annoyance with the way the Chronicler spoke, but sat down a few yards away from him "So, is this the part where you tell me about my destiny? How something's gonna happen and it's up to me to save the world?" Flame asked. He felt smaller as he saw the blue eyes of the Chronicler peer at him from over his book, his brow raised in unamusement as Flame shrank back.

"No, nothing like that..." The Chronicler said dismissively, looking back to his book "...That is for later."

"Well that's a…" Flame paused "...Later?" but that was ignored.

"No, I actually wish to discuss something else with you," The Chronicler said, finally putting the book away, letting him face Flame with nothing hiding him "Do you know who I am?"

Flame swallowed down the obvious answer of 'The Chronicler' and exhaled. Despite that, he wanted to say no. But as they continued to look at each other, a familiar feeling washed over him. The way this dragon stood, looking down at him with those soft eyes, the failed attempt at hiding a smile that was all too familiar. Flame blinked in realization, standing up as his jaw tried to move but failed to speak. This dragon was a spitting image of the statue in the training room. Flame inhaled, his eyes burning wet as he swallowed, his voice finally coming back to him.

"Ignitus."

Ignitus couldn't contain his smile anymore, he stood up with slow fluid movements and approached Flame, sitting down beside him, inches away, and delicately taking a paw and bringing it behind Flame, and pulling him into an embrace "My son." his voice broke from a stern calm to a sorrowful joy.

Flame froze as Ignitus pulled him into the hug. He should have been happy, beyond ecstatic that his father was alive, he should hug him back, squeeze what he could grab and never let go. Ignitus was here in the scales, his father was right in front of him. But why couldn't he move, why couldn't he feel anything?

Ignitus noticed this and let go slightly, looking at Flame "What is wrong?" he asked in a sweet voice of genuine concern, but all Flame could do was avert his gaze. Ignitus finally let him go, a heavy air hung over the two of them as they sat there in silence. Suddenly, Ignitus spoke up "Ah, I understand…" Ignitus began, making Flame look back at him "You don't know what to think of me, do you? You've only heard stories about me, but you still know nothing about me…" there was another pause, now Ignitus was averting his gaze "What can I say...that will make you understand?"

A rush of questions entered Flame's mind, remembering the night he first discovered the truth, all the things Red said, the things the Guardians wouldn't say. He finally spoke "I don't know...I'm sorry."

"Flame, you have nothing to be sorry for," Ignitus sighed "None of this was supposed to happen. We were all supposed to be together, your mother and I, and you. But the war, it…" he swallowed hard "But, that's all in the past isn't it? I know it can never be the dream we had, not without your mother, but we're still here. Would you let me try? Try to be a father?" Ignitus asked.

Flame breathed deep, an estranged father asking for a second chance, it sounded like something out of a story, a child's dream come true. He was left speechless, but he managed a slow nod and an uneasy smile.

Ignitus breathed a sigh of relief, slow and methodical, he nodded back to his son "Thank you, Flame. That is all I can ask for." Ignitus looked back to the main room of the library "Come, we can talk more in here," he said. It was silent as Flame followed Ignitus.

Ignitus was happy that Flame was understanding about the situation, even more happy that he was willing to try and make this work so they could be a family. But as Ignitus idly looked through the pages of several books, glancing at his son occasionally looking at his surroundings, panic rose in Ignitus' chest.

'Oh sweet ancestors, what do I say? What do I do?' Ignitus didn't realize his eyes were dilating as his thoughts overtook him, he had stopped looking at the books entirely and was looking at Flame now.

"Uh...Ignitus?" Flame had asked "You alright?"

Ignitus blinked, his eyes and breathing returning to normal as he put the books beside him now, they could wait, "I...er...you'll have to forgive me. I'm not used to idle conversation. It's been too long." Ignitus said.

"Ah…" Flame responded, another uneasy silence following "Er...can't really ask about the weather in the middle of the battlefield, huh?" Flame asked, an uneasy laugh escaping his muzzle. Ignitus smiled back.

"Eheh, yes...unless you don't mind hearing 'dark foreboding clouds' for the umteenth time." Ignitus chortled.

"Was the weather that bad?" Flame asked.

"Despite what people thought...Malefor did have a flair for the eccentric when he started the war. When he learned to manipulate the weather...he really enjoyed dark clouds. Fit the 'darkness' motif, I suppose," Ignitus smiled, laying down. Flame laughed, laying down as well.

"I didn't imagine The Dark Master as someone who had to try so hard to impress. I figured wielding all the elements would be enough for him."

"Ah, he had a lot to prove, however. Perhaps it was the Guardians of the past are to blame for what happened to him, he was groomed, told of his destiny from birth, there was so much responsibility on his shoulders. Everyone looked to him to lead the next era," Ignitus spoke in a forlorn tone.

"Can't imagine what that's like…" Flame said under his breath, but loud enough for Ignitus to hear.

"What? Oh...right…" Ignitus looked away with a long sigh.

"No I...I didn't mean it like that. Sorry," Flame said.

"No, I think it needs to be said...I do have a lot to be sorry for," Ignitus said, looking back and lingering on Flame for a moment with his gaze. Another silence fell over them. Ignitus cursed under his breath, that was going well, and he had to ruin it "Uh…" he said without thinking, making Flame perk up "Erm...how's Spyro?" he finally managed to get out.

"Oh uh… he's good, Cynder too, I think. We didn't really get to talk a lot yesterday…" Flame said "He misses you though."

"I know...but I promised myself I would contact him soon. I must..." Ignitus said, his mind now lingering on Spyro, the purple dragon that was like a second son to him. He hadn't realized Flame has asked him another question as he was lost in thought.

"Hey!"

"Ah! What?" Ignitus snapped back to it, looking at Flame.

"I said uh...do you think Spyro and Cynder are a couple? I mean it kinda looked like it to me but…-?" Flame asked, but stopped as he saw Ignitus chuckling under his breath.

"Flame, I knew it before I think they did…" Ignitus brought his paw to his muzzle to cover his mouth as he laughed.

Flame smirked, laughing with a nod "Ha! I knew it. I don't know how Ember is gonna like that."

"Ember...you're mate, yes? Why is that?" Ignitus asked.

"When Ember was younger...she had a major crush on him. Everyone in Thorp heard the stories. I can only imagine how she feels seeing those two together now," Flame said, chuckling.

"No matter the case. I can tell the four of you will be good friends."  
"You can tell? Or did you read it in one of your books?" Flame asked, grinning.

"I did no such thing!" Ignitus retorted, sliding a book away from Flame's view.

"Don't think I didn't see that!" Flame pointed at Ignitus, startling him. There was a long pause before the two busted out laughing. Ignitus covering his maw as Flame fell to his side, making Ignitus laugh just a little harder. Flame quickly pulled himself back up and tried to contain his laughter as Ignitus' laughter subsided as well.

"Ah...hahahah...I'm sorry. I haven't laughed like that in a long time," Ignitus breathed deeply to catch his breath, coughing slightly.

"I didn't know the guardians knew how to laugh like that. Most of the ones I met have a staff up there…-!"

"They mean well, I assure you…" Ignitus interrupted Flame, leaning in to whisper "But...between you and me, you should have seen me in my prime. I was quite the prankster."

"Oh?" Flame cracked a grin. Ignitus nodded.

"When we were beginning our training...many of the guardians were quite surprised to find firecrackers in their sleeping mats. I could always hear the screams of confusion from down the hall. It was quite a lot of fun." Ignitus winked as he stifled a chuckle. Flame grinned back in a knowing way.

"That explains where I got that then," Flame said, suddenly yawning. Ignitus turned to the hourglass in the center of the room.

"By the ancestors, is it that late already?" Ignitus said surprised, he stood up, "I am sorry, Flame. There was still so much I wanted to tell you, but it looks like you'll have to go soon."

"Oh…" Flame tried his best to hide his disappointment "That means more training with the three…-?"  
"Flame." was all Ignitus said to stop him "Give them a chance. They are adjusting to this, just as you are. They have their own issues too." Ignitus said longingly, an unspoken story in those words.

"What do you mean?" Flame asked.

"There is no time for me to tell you everything," Ignitus turned to Flame "But I promise you, the next time I contact you, I will tell you, okay?" Ignitus smiled in a way that made a smile creep onto Flame's face.

"Yeah, okay." Flame nodded, thinking of other questions and stories for Ignitus the next time they met. Flame watched Ignitus open up slowly for the invitation for a hug, Flame couldn't help but to crack a grin at that.

"I...er...too soon?" Ignitus smiled awkwardly. Flame smiled comfortingly.

"The next time you contact me...I promise," Flame said with a wink, Ignitus chortled and nodded in understanding."

"Very well. Goodbye, Flame," Ignitus said, watching Flame fade away and return to the realm of the awake. Ignitus let the mood fade away with a slow and steady breath, a smile still present on his muzzle as he turned back to his books, carefully looking them over as his tail wagged slowly behind him.

"May the ancestors watch over you, as will I, my son."

* * *

**ACT I: End**


	8. Bonus: Spyro and Cynder

**Shortly after Malefor's Defeat**

* * *

"Ugh, my aching...everything," Spyro spoke with an elongated groan of pain. He was awoken by the strong light of the sun shining down upon him. Spyro brought his body slowly upward to look at his surroundings; he was in a vast, luscious field. Many vibrantly colored flowers encircled him and swayed in the gentle breeze. The sky above him offered only a few clouds as the rest was filled with an endless blue, the sun perched itself near the highest point, showing the purple dragon that it was almost noon.

At first, Spyro thought nothing of the location he was in, simply staring at it blandly. However, his eyes suddenly shot open as he had a second look around; a smile slowly finding its way onto his face. He let out a slight chuckle before breaking out into a full blown laugh.

"We did it? We did it! Cynder we-" Spyro stopped as he realized the lack of the black dragoness. He looked around in a hurried panic, hoping to find the one that helped him save the world from Malefor; he ran around the field, hoping to find a sign of Cynder somewhere. After what felt like an eternity to him, he caught sight of Cynder's tail blade, sticking out of a patch of white flowers. He sighed as he spotted the rest of her, peacefully lying down in the patch of flowers. He delicately called her name, only to get no response. He tried again only louder, still garnering no response, worry started to settle into his body. He brought his head to her chest, there was a heartbeat; she was only sleeping.

'I didn't take her for a heavy sleeper,' Spyro thought as he began devising tactics to awaken Cynder. "Cynder?" he tried first simply nudging her with his head; she didn't even stir. Spyro tried nudging her again only harder, still nothing happened. Spyro backed away in thought While Spyro was contemplating a new plan to awaken the dragoness; three words suddenly rang in his head.

'_I love you,'_ his eyes popped open to the sudden recall of memory. He had heard that before he had brought the world back together. He turned back to Cynder, determined now more than ever to awake her. One idea quickly flashed in his mind on how to wake her up but he dismissed it. When nothing else came to mind though, he realized it was worth a try. He got close to Cynder and looked at her sleeping form, Spyro almost felt guilty about doing what he was about to do. He brought his head closer to her head, and then pressed his lips onto her own. After a few seconds he brought his head back up, hoping the kiss at least stirred her.

But nothing happened.

"Darn" Spyro uttered. Panic started to return to Spyro as he thought of another plan. Another hastily thought out plan entered his mind and honestly, he liked the thought of it. Spyro walked carefully to behind Cynder and built up some sparks in his mouth, letting one fly out of his mouth and onto Cynder, giving her a little jolt. She jumped awake afterward.

"Gah! Spyro why-" Cynder spoke angrily before catching sight of the smile on Spyro's face and the field the two were in. A look of shock remained on her face.

"We..." was all she had to say before Spyro nodded. Spyro laughed as he saw her jump for joy. But he stopped in an instant when she got close to him and hugged him, draping her wings over his back. Startled at the show of affection at first, he quickly accepted and closed his eyes smiling as the hug proceeded. Cynder's eyes shot open and she retreated quickly, leaving Spyro confused.

"Sorry, I was just...caught up in the moment," Cynder said, blushing and avoiding eye contact, Spyro nodded as he looked away as well, blushing as well. Suddenly a thought came to him.

'_What if what she said back at the center of the earth was the same thing, just her getting caught up in the moment?'_ Spyro sighed slowly.

"Spyro?"

"Huh?" he was brought back to the real world by Cynder's voice "Oh, what?"

"I asked what we should do now." Cynder asked, not picking up Spyro's emotions.

"Oh, right..." Spyro thought for only a moment, "We should head back to Warfang, chances are the place needs our help in repairs," Cynder nodded as she saw Spyro's wings open, an action that, for a reason she couldn't explain, made her smile.

"Cynder?" she shook her head as her name was called.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you could fly." Spyro asked apparently for the second time. He was already in the sky, looking down at her.

"Oh, yeah I can," she spoke as she unfolded her wings, and took to the skies, surpassing Spyro's height in one flap of her wings, leaving Spyro speechless.

"Coming?" she joked to Spyro. Spyro grinned and took off after her.

* * *

"Spyro?" Cynder asked.

"Yes, Cynder?"

"Are you seeing this?" Cynder was referring to Warfang. To both of the dragon's surprise, the city looked utterly devastated, it looked more like the ruins beneath the earth than a city. The two curiously continued towards the city. When they touched down in the streets below they were relieved to see many different types of creatures going through the streets talking and making transactions. Cheetahs, moles, even a handful of dragons all helped with the clearing of debris from the end of the war. The loud and booming noises of the street seemed to settle the instant Spyro and Cynder began walking through the streets, which made them feel uneasy. The crows seemed dazed to see the two of them standing before them, before ultimately breaking into a loud, deafening cheer.

"Ah, so what do we have here? Spyro and Cynder have returned," a mole walked up to Spyro and Cynder speaking in a heavy accent. Spyro was able to identify the mole immediately.

"Mole-Yair." Spyro smiled looking around as the cheering died down as the crowd resumed their cleaning, seeming to go even faster than before.

"I cannot even begin to speak on how grateful we all are for what you have done, the both of you." Mole-Yair nodded, stroking his long white beard.

"Looks like we're gonna have our work cut out for ourselves, Spyro. If we're gonna help with rebuilding." Cynder looked around at the destruction.

"You've only just arrived and already you want to help more. Hah, a far cry from the Cynder many may know before…" Mole-Yair thought a loud, loud enough for Cynder to hear. She averted her gaze, looking over the debris with a new resolve "Ah, I'm…-!"

"No...it's fine…" Cynder muttered, not looking at Mole-Yair now. Spyro sighed, looking at Cynder, too afraid to try and comfort her right now. He breathed deep and looked back to the mole.

"Do you know where the Guardian's are? Are they still…-?" Spyro's mind wandered to Ignitus and his heart skipped a beat. He had already lost him, he couldn't lose any more.

"Ah yes. Rest assured they are all well. You will find them at the capitol building. I was just on my way there to discuss the plans going forward, reconstruction and all that. Follow me…" Mole-Yair said, nodding as he walked slowly. Spyro turned to Cynder, eyes still wandering to the wreckage of the city. Spyro nudged into Cynder, who finally broke away to look at him, eyes beginning to grow watery.

"...You okay?" Spyro wanted to ask her so much more, but he thought that would be enough without upsetting her too much.

"I'm...I'm fine…" Cynder said, inhaling and exhaling slowly as she looked over the rubble one more time "I'll feel better when this is all behind me…" she looked to Spyro.

"Good...good." Spyro nodded, giving her a small smile, which she returned "Let's get going then." and the two caught up with Mole-Yair.

Spyro and Cynder walked through the blasted doors of the capitol building, already seeing a small handful of people talking amongst themselves: an atlawa, a cheetah Spyro quickly identified as Prowlus, and just as Mole-Yair said, Volteer, Cyril, and Terrador. Volteer looked over at the door to see Spyro and Cynder then turned back to the others, he then turned back around an instant later, an excited gasp escaping his mouth.

"Why I…I can't believe it!" Volteer stuttered, causing Terrador and Cyril to turn in surprise as well.

"Spyro, Cynder, you're alive!" Cyril said as the three walked over to the two.

"Yes this is most joyous, stupendous, delightful, eh…uhm" Volteer returned to his ramblings, causing him to be shushed by Cyril.

"Yes, it's good to see you, both of you," Terrador smiled warmly before looking behind them "But...where's Ignitus?" Spyro's smiled dropped slightly as he looked down in sorrow.

"He…he didn't make it," Spyro said.

"He gave up his life so we could get through the caverns," Cynder added, recognizing Spyro wasn't able to finish his sentence. Cyril and Volteer looked devastated, and Terrador seemed the most shaken of them all

"I see..." Terrador spoke solemnly "That's troubling...I'm sorry, Spyro," Terrador looked away.

"Thanks…-?" Spyro brought his head back up, the sadness replaced with confusion as the sound of a scream grew louder and louder approaching the group. Spyro managed to see the golden glow of a dragonfly coming in fast.

"Ah!" the voice repeated getting louder and louder every second before finally making contact with Spyro's snout in the form of a hug "Spyro, Cynder! Back from the dead I see," Spyro instantly recognized Sparx's voice.

"Sparx, it's good to see you too," Spyro spoke mid-laughter. Cynder looked to Sparx curiously.

"Did you...actually call me Cynder?" she asked.

"Of course I did, Spooky." Sparx grinned, Cynder snorted " You saved the world, and best of…you kept Tubby here alive, just like you promised." Sparx grew more solemn with the last half of his statement, but the wink showed that was his way of showing his appreciation.

"Well…" Cynder smiled back "I didn't want to think what would happen if I didn't, don't need you nagging my ear off." Cynder attempted to wink back, but only ended up closing both her eyes.

"Good try. We can keep working on that." Sparx smirked, sitting on Spyro's nose now as Terrador clearing his throat cut the reunion short.

"I'm sorry to interrupt…" Terrador cut in "But there is still a lot of work to be done, much more with Ignitus' passing... I know you two just returned, and probably need to rest but…-?" Terrador was interrupted by Spyro shaking his head.

"What can we do to help?" Spyro asked, Cynder nodding alongside him.

* * *

The two worked for the rest of the day; Spyro using his earth powers to clear debris or reform it into buildings once more, Cynder using her poison and wind powers to clear away more pesky bits of building that were no longer useful. When the sun finally began to set, The Guardians found Spyro and Cynder, stating that they slept outside of the city, partly in defense, partly so there was more room for refugees among the small parts of the city that were still liveable. The five of them settled in for the evening, and Spyro and Cynder offered to take first watch while The Guardians slept.

"Spyro," Spyro brought his attention back to Cynder.

"Can we talk?" she asked quietly.

"Uh yeah, sure. What about?" Spyro asked. Cynder looked down, as if she was mulling over the thoughts in her head and the best way to say them.

"Look, about in the earth and earlier today, in the field-" Cynder began, making Spyro's heart lighten.

"I didn't know what I was saying, I was just…caught up in the moment," Spyro's heart hit the bottom of his chest like a rock.

"So...you didn't mean it?" Spyro asked rather harshly, harsher than he meant to say.

"I don't know..." Cynder sighed "I guess...I've never had these feelings for anybody before. I just…I just don't know what to think," Cynder admitted, making Spyro nod.

"Can you just give me time...to think?" Cynder asked, earning a heart broken nod from Spyro.

"Thanks," she spoke sincerely, still finding a way to make Spyro's heart flutter "Do you mind if I rest for a little bit? Wake me up when you need to sleep, okay?"

"Yeah." Spyro managed, keeping his gaze out on the horizon. From the corner of his eye he could Cynder linger, watching him, before finally turning to rest with the other guardians, facing away from him. Spyro couldn't help but sigh.

"Hey there, bro." Spyro perked up in surprise, looking to see Sparx fly down to greet him.

"Sparx, hey..." Spyro spoke blandly, looking back towards Cynder "Now's not a good time."

"Okay fine, I see your point, you don't want to talk to your own brother, the one who hasn't seen you since you flew off to save the world, with no clue if his one and only brother was still alive. I'll just be on my way then..." Sparx was beginning to fly away until he heard the beleaguered sigh of Spyro.

"You've made your point Sparx, I'm sorry," Sparx grinned. Spyro eyed his brother curiously as he fluttered right beside him.

"So I was going to ask what's up...but I already heard the tail end of that conversation you had with Cynder." Sparx said. Spyro snorted and looked back out over the horizon. Sparx looked over behind them, seeing Cynder shuffle as she lay sleeping "How do you feel about her?" Sparx asked. Spyro paused, a smile slowly forming on his muzzle as he finally spoke.

"She's…heh, well where do I start?" Spyro thought, "She's strong, caring, honest, and beautiful-"

"This is Cynder we're talking about right?" Sparx interjected, earning a snort from Spyro. He laughed weakly "Sorry, you were saying?" Spyro remained silent, trying to find the right words to say.

"I guess…she takes my breath away every time she so much as looks at me. I would do anything to see that warm smile of hers. I…I love her," Spyro finished with a smile. He lost it when he heard Sparx break out in laughter.

"Sparx!" Spyro said, annoyance rising in his voice.

"Sorry, sorry," Sparx said between laughing wiping a tear from his eye "But yeah, this is kinda stuff is tricky. I guess you could just...tell her how you feel?" Sparx offered.

"I guess you're right...for once." Spyro muttered "But I guess now really isn't the time to be trying something like that, huh?"

"Guess so...but hey, that's just more time to get those words right." Sparx said, yawning loudly "Anyways, it's late enough already and you look ready to pass out. Wake up Spooky and get some rest, yeah?"

"Yeah...good night, Sparx, thanks." Sparx's light vanished into the night and back into the city. Spyro stood and was about to nudge Cynder to wake her up.

"I'm already awake…" Cynder said, standing up, looking at Spyro, a silly smile on her face. Even in his tired addled mind, Spyro couldn't help but be curious why she was smiling like she was.

Then it hit him.

"...You heard everything didn't you?" Spyro asked, to which Cynder nodded.

The sound of something shattering played in Spyro's mind as the curious look on his face turned to an expression of horror. Whether it was his heart or his sanity, his face grew crimson with embarrassment as he averted his gaze from Cynder.

"Oh my-" Spyro stopped himself, dragging his paw down his face "I'm so sorry, I must've sounded like a total idiot," he was slightly comforted by the sound of Cynder laughing.

"Actually-" Spyro shot his gaze back to Cynder; he noticed that she was beginning to get red around the cheeks "It was really sweet. I figured you felt like that about me...but what you said... I never knew you felt _that way_ about me," Cynder chuckled a little. Spyro nodded, embarrassment keeping him from saying too much, and all the ways he was going to get revenge on Sparx.

"All we've really ever known is fighting and war and...I mean I guess we're both a little scared to try this, right? What it means to...be in love, right?" Cynder asked.

"Yeah." Spyro nodded back, smiling.

"Well...how about we figure it out together? I mean...we already took on the world? We can do it again, right?" Cynder asked again.

"Yeah." Spyro nodded again, smiling still.

"...Spyro are you okay? Cynder smirked, thinking maybe Spyro was stuck in a loop or something.

"Yeah…-!" Spyro nodded again, before shaking his head "Er...I mean...I guess I'm just tired...excited to try this...honestly, mostly tired."

"Right." Cynder blushed, nodding "Why don't you get some rest. You could use it."

Spyro nodded, flopping onto his side, a goofy smile on his face as his eyes were already fluttering, ready to pass out. Cynder couldn't help but smile, never seeing this side of Spyro, no doubt happy to know she was giving being mates a chance.

"Good night, Spyro." Cynder said, leaning in and kissing Spyro on the forehead. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply as she did so.

"Good night, Cynder…" Spyro yawned, eyes closed as he rolled onto his side "Love you." he said without thinking, but was already out to correct himself.

Cynder looked him over one last time, they'd been through so much, and she wouldn't be who she was without him. He gave her everything back, after Malefor stole it away. She didn't know the first thing love, or being with someone like that.

But for Spyro, she was more than happy to learn.

"I love you too."


	9. The Kingdom of Water Dragons

**ACT II**

* * *

Flame's eyes slowly opened to the start of a brand new day, he stretched in his pillow before carefully rolling out of it as to not fall and hit the floor, a soft smile ever present on his face as he did so. Flame turned to the sound of the door opening and Terrador peeking his head inside; he was surprised to see Flame out of bed.

"You're awake." Terrador said, less of a question and more of a matter of fact. Flame turned to Terrador, still yawning as he nodded.

"Mmhmm, bright and early for training." Flame mused jokingly as he walked towards the entrance of the room and Terrador.

"Remember what I said yesterday, Flame? We have something else planned for today," Terrador said, walking towards the entrance of the temple, Flame had already begun to turn towards the training room and had to pivot to follow Terrador "We're heading to the Capitol Building, you get to try your paw at the second part of your responsibility."

"Mm?" Flame responded, there was something about the way Terrador worded that that made him uneasy, but before Terrador could explain, he spread his wings and was beginning to fly off. Flame groaned as he took to the sky to follow "Y'know. Just because you're an old dragon doesn't mean you have to speak in riddles, right?" Flame called out, but Terrador did not respond.

* * *

It was a quick flight from the Warfang Temple to the Capitol Building. Flame and Terrador landed at the base of the large stairway that led to the giant building, creatures of every creed were stepping in and out of the marble building; dragons, moles, atlawas, and many more Flame never even knew existed.

"Impressive isn't it?" Terrador spoke while clearing his throat, cueing Flame to stop ogling and follow him "One of the few buildings to remain largely intact after the war, and where you can usually find most of the leading heads of the city, including other places…" Terrador turned to face Flame when he reached the top of the stairs, unamused to see Flame stagger and gasp to the top "The other guardians and the Chief of Kazegurei are already waiting inside. We should make it just in time for the meeting." Terrador and Flame stepped inside, walking down a hallway decorated with the city's history; gleaming statues and trinkets of different shapes and sizes, portraits of important figures, among many other items. Terrador looked out of the corner of his eyes as he saw Flame catch up and face him.

"So what _are_ we doing here anyways? What's this meeting about?" Flame asked. Terrador finally turned to face him.

"We're trying to get another kingdom under our alliance, much like we did with Kazegurei. A unified Avalar is a strong Avalar, and the more people we have working together, the easier it is to achieve it. With the war leaving much of the world in pieces, it will take all of us to rebuild it."

"Riiight…" Flame huffed, finding it hard to keep up with Terrador's brisk stride "Where are we going this time?"

"I don't know. We will have more information when we sit down and discuss our plans," Terrador said, his gaze turning ahead as he saw Volteer and Cyril, Spyro and Cynder waiting outside the main door for Terrador and Flame.

"Terrador, young Flame. Just in time, council should start any minute now." Volteer nodded to the two of them. Terrador approached Volteer and Cyril as Flame approached Spyro and Cynder.

"Morning, Flame. Sleep well?" Spyro nodded.

Flame thought back to his night, spending the whole time talking to Ignitus. "Pretty good actually, yeah. Thanks."

"We figured as much. You were out like a light when we tried waking you up," Cynder added. Flame blinked in surprise and looked to Terrador quickly: were they late, and he didn't say anything?

"Hey, you're okay. They just like to be here early for meetings like this…" Cynder covered her maw with a wing as she yawned "Much to our dismay," Spyro and Flame chuckled as the door to the council room opened.

"Time to go," Spyro said as the others walked inside. Flame breathed slowly and tried his best to move in time with the others.

The seven dragons entered a large, polished white, circular room. Flame watched the other dragons quickly move to assumed seats to sit and wait. From seperate doors he saw a number of different species also line the chair around the circular room. An atlawa, a mole, an ape, a cheetah were the first to step out. Followed by a dragonfly glowing yellow, he waved excitedly to Spyro which was quickly returned. His heart leaped when he saw the Chief walk in. His heart soared even higher when he saw Ember walk in with him, and then it sank like a stone when he saw Red walk in as well.

"Two out of three ain't bad…" Flame muttered as the sound of a gavel startled him. A mole grabbed a handful of papers, adjusted his glasses, moving the papers to different lengths away from his to properly read. After a solid minute, he began speaking.

"Thank you all for coming here today. Now, as discussed before, we have been in contact with another kingdom, and they have finally agreed to have us meet them in their own kingdom, to negotiate the terms of an alliance. Now the matter of who we send is to be discussed…eh?" The mole began, his train of thought broken as he noticed the waving of a small red paw across the room. The rest of the room slowly turned to look at Flame, who had raised his paw.

"Er...is this not how this works?" Flame asked sarcastically.

"I assume you had a question...er…-?" the mole began. The Chief of Kazegurei was about to speak up, but another voice said it quicker.

"Ignitus' child, Flame," Red said, the smallest grin on his face. Flame groaned, of course Red had to add that part.

"Ah! I see, my apologies, child of Ignitus. I can't expect you to know our customs when this is your first time." the mole began, not seeing Flame's tail wag in annoyance "What would you like to ask?"

"Well...er...I wasn't told where we're going. I guess it makes sense to know that first?" Flame said, more of a question than a statement.

"Very astute of you to ask, Flame. It would be wrong of us to not tell you where you are going first," the mole smiled. Flame cracked a smile at that, and looking at the other dragons around him showed that they were happy that he had asked that so quickly "You will be going to the Kingdom of the water dragons, Atlantis." the mole said, earning a mixture of reactions from the other dragons.

"The water dragons? Why I haven't heard from them in ages, it's been so long. This is a wonderful opportunity to…" Volteer had begun to ramble excitedly to himself. Terrador remained stoically quiet.

"Great…and you all moan about my ego." Cyril muttered to himself.

"There are other elements out there?" Cynder asked.

"There are many elements, Cynder. Many have come and gone, while others merely hid to the farther corners of Avalar, on account of the war," Red said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone.

"Yes, yes. I can see that you are all very excited to begin. We have already decided who shall be venturing to Atlantis to discuss the alliance…" the mole flipped through his papers, muttering to himself as he settled on another sheet, bringing it close to his eyes as before "Er let's see...Spyro and Cynder, as usual…" Spyro and Cynder nodded "...Cyril, you shall be going as well…" a louder groan came from Cyril "...Flame, I believe it is important you participate as well, to understand the political side of your new responsibilities." Flame perked up; another thing to learn about his job as guardian that involved talking, that didn't sound too hard!

"And lastly, Red, you will be joining them as well." Flame felt something in the back of his mind snap when he heard that last part.

"Great…"

* * *

Back at the Temple, as they prepared for the travel to Atlantis, Volteer made it abundantly clear they were not happy with Red joining. While Terrador remained quiet, the others could see he was seething on the inside, just waiting for the moment to burst.

"This is ridiculous! How could the council agree to allow that pompous, malicious, arrogant, manipulative…-!" Volteer rambled as Cyril packed up, Terrador standing beside Volteer.

"Red _is _the council. He's using this as a chance to show that he is a more capable guardian than Flame and legitimize his claim."

"A claim he does not have!" Volteer countered "We've made it abundantly and plainly clear that he will not be the guardian."

"You're right…" Terrador began "...But perhaps he will find some way to make the council make us name a guardian prematurely, and it could very well be him."

"Not so long as we have young Flame." Cyril suddenly joined in, approaching the other two, having finished packing "I'll make sure it's clear that Flame is the one who brokered this alliance."

"But...do you think young Flame is ready?" Volteer asked, Cyril shook his head as he brushed past Volteer and Terrador. The two guardians were concerned by the lack of an answer.

Meanwhile, Spyro and Cynder knocked on the door to Flame's room.

"It's open!" they heard Flame from inside and they stepped inside.

"Flame, we're about to head out. You ready to go?" Spyro asked.

"Ah no, Not yet," Flame said, flopping out of his pillow with a yawn as he walked to the corner of the room. Spyro and Cynder looked at each quizzically, but then saw Flame grab an empty satchel and sling it over his back "M'kay, ready to go,"

"Oh…" Cynder began "...guess you don't really have a lot to prepare."

Flame shrugged, smirking "I pack light." Flame, Spyro and Cynder headed out of the room, catching Cyril as he brushed past the three of them.

"Ah good, you're all ready. Shall we?" Cyril said in a quick, kurt tone that made the others uneasy but follow shortly after. They reached the front of the temple and saw Red waiting at the base of the steps. He packed light as well, just a satchel of unknown items.

"It's about time you four showed up." Red spoke, eyes focused namely on Cyril and Flame "If we leave now we should make it to Atlantis just before afternoon." with a click of his staff and a flap of his wings, he was up and in the air. Cyril, Spyro and Cynder joined shortly after. Flame hesitated, taking a deep breath as jumped and reached them, taking flight.

* * *

The five of them flew all through the morning, flying over the Valley of Avalar, the Enchanted Forest and finally resting at the space between the edge of the Enchanted Forest and the Silver River Delta. The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon, casting the sky and the ocean in a pleasantly blue.

Red and Cyril landed by the edge of the delta, standing a good distance away and waiting for something. Spyro, Cynder and Flame stayed towards the edge of the forest, watching the two of them. "You could cut the tension with a dagger," Cynder whispered to the two of them, Spyro nodded as Flame looked around.

"Wait, where's Atlantis? I figured that…-!"

"Well, Flame!" Red suddenly interjected, was he listening the whole time? "Atlantis is at the bottom of the sea, ever since the war it has rarely surfaced. It took a lot of convincing to get them to come up in the first place."

"And it will take even more to convince them to join us," Cyril turned to face the three of them "So we have to make sure things go smoothly." his eyes rested on Flame for a second longer before he turned back around. Flame was about to speak, but when the earth began to shake violently and the others braced themselves for the sudden force, he was silenced quickly. Looking out to the sea, he noticed the source of the massive quake was coming from the water, a massive opal spire jutting from the sea, before the rest of the castle began to erupt. The palace was decorated in sparkling whites, blues and pastel pinks, colors that reminded Flame of the very element it came from. Eventually, the portcullis of the palace was visible, slowly opening and extending to reach the base of the delta, not too far away from where Red and Cyril stood. A dragon of a deep dark blue appeared from the shadow of the palace. Bony, almost shell-like protrusions were at the joints, with horns that reminded Flame of a ram. What stood out most of all to him though were the wings; they were much smaller than any of the other dragons here.

"The delegates of Warfang, yes?" the dragon spoke in a deep and demanding tone, constantly looking down his nose. Spyro, Cynder and Flame were taken aback, but Cyril and Red were quick to nod, unfazed.

"Aquarius of the water dragons, and king of Atlantis." Red added with a slight bow, to which the water dragon, Aquarius, nodded in turn.

"Good, let us make this quick then…" Aquarius turned back around, gesturing the five to follow him into the castle. Flame was the last inside, and as soon as he stepped off the bridge, it rumbled to life and began to close up on them, shrouding the entrance in darkness. Shortly after, a soft blue glow emanated from sconces on the wall. Flame squinted and identified the sconces didn't have torches, but rather what looked like balls of algae. Flame could see the darkened silhouette of Cyril lag behind to walk alongside him.

"There is a lot riding on how well this goes, young Flame," Cyril began "So don't mess this up."

Flame swallowed down a lump, he had never heard Cyril talk to him like this, even when he messed up training. He took a breath and continued "What? You don't think I can talk my way into an alliance? You gotta know by now that my tongue is my most appealing quality." Flame feigned confidence.

Cyril snorted "A sharp tongue makes for a poor diplomat. It'll take more than sarcasm and irony to get them on our side." and he quickened his pace to meet up with Aquarius and Red. Flame's stride faltered for a moment as the harsh tone of the Guardian of Ice washed over him. He looked back up at the other dragons walking deeper into Atlantis, and it was then that the weight of this task suddenly dawned upon him.


	10. The Negotiation

Flame felt small, as if he was in the shadow of giants as he walked through the halls of Atlantis. Any attempts to break the silence the others walked in resulted in a gurgle that barely got past the back of his throat. It was the first time he genuinely felt he was in over his head; fighting dummies to train was one thing, but talking, actually talking about something as big as peace? Cyril was right, it was gonna take more than quips to make this happen.

Flame crept back to keep pace with Spyro and Cynder "So, er…" Flame choked "Ever dealt with anyone like him?" Flame asked.

"Can't say we have…" Cynder muttered back.

"The other Guardians said he was going to be difficult to sway. I can already tell this is going to be tough" Spyro said "Apparently he and Ignitus used to be friends, but something happened."

"Of course he was…" Flame grumbled, dreading what will happen if King Aquarius discovered he had invited two of Ignitus' family members through the front door.

The six dragons had made their way into the main hall, at the end of the room were two large thrones decorated with sea life, coral and seashells. The rest of the hall was a mixture of pink and red with traces of blue, it made the King stand out when compared to his deep blue scales.

"Now, I understand the threat of Malefor has been dealt with?" Aquarius began.

"Yes, thanks to Spyro and Cynder here." Cyril said, Spyro and Cynder stepped forward and gave a quick bow.

"Hmm, I see." Aquarius nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer "A tremendous relief. You know, I was one of the ones who spoke up against Malefor and his rise to power. The Guardians insisted he would not be a threat, and yet here we are. The surface world was scarred while our kingdom remains untouched."

Flame looked to Cyril and Red when the King said that. Red glared at Aquarius with a look that he thought his uncle reserved only for him; while Cyril's muzzle was beginning to purse into a growl. Thankfully the King was so focused on his talking that he didn't notice their contempt.

"Hmm, and what of him?" Aquarius looked to Flame, making his heart jump "Who is he to be here?"

"I'm…-!" Flame began, noticing Red about to speak on his behalf once again. Red merely stepped back, which was a welcome change of pace "I'm Flame...a diplomat in training." Flame bowed to the King, much like Spyro and Cynder had. He didn't like the idea of bowing to a jerk like Aquarius, but this had to go smoothly. Cyril stared cautiously at Flame, looking back to the King to gauge his reaction.

"A fire dragon? Wishing to be a diplomat?" Aquarius chortled "What a novel concept, but I suppose these are strange times." Flame had to swallow his gut reaction to that comment, now he understood how Cyril and Red felt "That said, quiet, listening, able to pick up on cues...perhaps you may make for a promising diplomat."

Spitting in your face one minute and wiping it away the next. Flame could now completely understand how the others felt about him.

"You...humble me?" Flame said, more question than thanks. Flame picked himself up and slunk back to Spyro and Cynder.

Red stepped forward "Now then. May we begin the negotiation?"

Aquarius' smile faded and he nodded "Very well."

* * *

Despite the rocky beginning, the rest of the negotiations went well, all things considered. The threat of Malefor being gone made Aquarius much more agreeable to assist the others. That said, his ego made the discussion last hours. Spyro and Cynder were listening, occasionally offering up their own assistance should they need it. But Flame merely listened, trying his best to keep up with what everyone was saying; everytime he would wrap his head around one concept, they were already two steps beyond that point.

"So we agree to be a line of defense for Avalar from all aquatic related threats, while you agree to allow us to retain our autonomy." Aquarius finished, probably the first thing Flame could get easily.

"I'd say these terms are agreeable, yes?" Red turned to Cyril, who gave a quick nod in turn "We can have the council draw up a proper contract of the negotiation and have it to you shortly."

"And I will have my council ensure the contract remains agreeable to our terms." Aquarius turned to Flame once more "And what of you, our little diplomat? What do you think?"

Flame had to bite back the initial response and think fast "I...erm...think if we're all in agreement then. I think that's the end of it."

"Are you sure?" Nothing else comes to mind?" Aquarius mused, taking a tone that suggested he was talking to a toddler and not a diplomat.

Another pause, another breath. He looked to Cyril and Red, but glaring with a look that said he should quit while he is ahead.

But...this was training right?

"I mean...if you were to press me…" Flame began, trying his best to avoid the erratic expressions of Cyril and Red "If you're going to be a part of this...wouldn't it make sense you have a say on the council as well? A representative?"

"My own representative on your council…" Aquarius turned away, thinking. The air grew tense as finally Flame turned to see the others. Spyro and Cynder seemed confident in Flame's choice, Cyril seemed uneasy, but Flame couldn't put into words the expression on Red.

"I do believe you are on to something...Flame, yes?" Aquarius asked, Flame nodded "Well if I were to do that, I imagine I'd have to allow a little more? Perhaps even allow trade routes within my kingdom?"

"Yes." Flame said, after seeing the quick nod from Cyril.

"Very well, be sure to have that drawn up in the contract." Aquarius turned to Cyril and Red before looking back to Flame "I must confess, little diplomat, you made this negotiation much more enjoyable, don't think I didn't see you trying your best to keep up with what we were talking about.

"Erm, thanks." Flame said through his teeth, the response made Aquarius chuckle.

"You know, you remind me of an old surface friend of mine. You've heard stories of Ignitus, yes?"

A hollow feeling rang through Flame as he heard that name "...I've heard stories, yes." Flame said, colder than he had meant to, but the King didn't seem to have noticed.

"Ah yes. When water dragons we're regularly on the surface, that Guardian of Fire was special. Most fire dragons I met were merely impulsive hot heads. But Ignitus was different, a thinker, always listening to everyone." Aquarius looked to Flame again "You know, when I look at you, I can't help but see a little of him in you…" Flame nearly collapsed as the King turned his attention to Red and Cyril "I understand he did not survive the war. I am sorry to hear that. Even after what happened."

"What happened?" Flame asked without thinking, and a little too quick. Aquarius turned to Flame in surprise.

"Ah well. When the threat of Malefor arrived, many of us thought to make a preemptive strike on Malefor before he grew too powerful. He, and the rest of the guardians thought he would not be a problem and opted to let him be…" Aquarius sighed "Their choice cost me most of my kingdom...and my queen..." he inhaled sharply "That is why I left."

"I'm...sorry…" Flame spoke when the rest were quiet.

Aquarius blinked, rubbing his eyes with a soft chortle "Hmm, look at me. Ignitus could also find a way to make people talk about things they'd rather not say…" Aquarius mused "Tell me, little diplomat, you are not just a diplomat are you. You wish to become a guardian, like he was?"

Aquarius had been so honest, Flame felt inclined to do the same "I am, yes. Trying to become the Guardian of Fire, naturally…" Flame looked to the others, seeing if they intended to step in, but they just watched, even Red was pensively quiet.

"Well, you have subverted my expectations, diplomat. This would feel more cathartic if you were his child, but the rules of the Guardians." Aquarius lingered.

"...What rules?" Flame asked, looking to Cyril and the panicked look in his eyes.

"Ah, you are in training, I cannot expect you to know. The Guardians are not permitted to have children, they are not even permitted to have mates, last I recall."

Flame's heart skipped a beat. Spyro and Cynder looked on in silent horror as Cyril averted his gaze. Red merely watched the display.

'Red…' His mind wrapped back to his first meeting with Red and what he said. Is that what he meant when he called Flame a bastard? He wasn't supposed to exist?

What was that going to mean for him and Ember?

"But I digress, the terms are agreeable and I believe we are…-!"

"Wait." Flame cut him off, an unexplained emotion running through him "You've been honest with me, so I need to be honest with you. I'm Ignitus' son."

The smile faded from Aquarius' muzzle, his gaze turned intense "...What?" he asked coldly.

"I only found out a couple of days ago but...yeah?" The suddenly furious expression from Aquarius silenced the rest of Flame's thoughts.

"So this is how the surface world is? Contradictions? Hypocrisy? Refusal to adhere to the words of others and your own rules?" His gaze turned to Cyril and Red "I had hoped the near destruction of the world would be enough of a lesson, but it appears I was wrong." He stood up, beginning to walk away "You will find no aid from us. I will take my kin and leave the surface world to their devices."

"Wait!" Flame sat up, refusing to listen to Cyril's objection "We're all finally at peace, a chance to start over, and you wanna throw it away because of the mistake of my...of another dragon?" A twinge of hope struck Flame as Aquarius stopped "You said the whole world was almost destroyed because of what happened. I hate to break it to you, but your kingdom is part of this world too. You would have been destroyed as well, just like all the rest of us." Flame inhaled again, his mouth moving before his mind "But that's all in the past. And...I mean shouldn't we all try to move forward now? We can't undo not listening to you, or your queen dying, or me...but we can try and do the right thing now, right?" Flame pleaded, a quiet and intense air hung in the room as the rest waited to see Aquarius' reaction to Flame's words.

A beat later, Aquarius turned to face the others "I want you out of my castle. Now." and with that he disappeared into his castle.

"Flame...you…" Cyril growled, brushing past Flame and nearly toppling him over. Red was short behind, giving his nephew one intense look before following. Spyro and Cynder stayed behind, flanking Flame.

"Flame? Are you alright?" Cynder asked, but Flame didn't listen. A building pressure in his chest left him unable to speak beyond a gurgle. His breathing grew slow and shallow as he spun around, brushing past the two as he bolted out of the castle.

* * *

Flame didn't keep track of how long he had been sitting outside the castle, head hung low with a thousand yard stare into his own reflection. He didn't even react to the sound of the portcullis closing and the other stepping out of the castle. He could tell that Cyril and Red had flown off, while he felt Spyro and Cynder come up beside him.

"Well, Cyril and Red were able to smooth things over with King Aquarius, he agreed to the terms…" Spyro tried to say reassuringly, but Flame didn't even acknowledge him "How are you feeling?"

Flame inhaled slowly "Well...I blew my chance to prove myself as a Guardian, nearly blew a diplomatic mission, and just figured out I'm a bastard child." Flame tried his best to put on a smile "I've seen better days." Flame could see the awkward expressions on both of their faces; they weren't sure how to respond to that "I just… I'm just gonna go…" Flame leapt into the air and took flight back to Warfang, Red and Cyril were but specks on the horizon at this point. They were going to reach the city first, Cyril was going to tell Terrador and Volteer how he had botched the mission, and Red was no doubt going to go to the council and tell them the same thing. There wasn't a chance he was going to become a guardian after something like this.

Flame had failed.

* * *

Cyril touched down in the temple promenade and wasted no time storming inside. He could see Terrador and Volteer in the training ground, even in the dim evening light. Volteer turned to see Cyril first; his smile quickly faded to a concerned look as Terrador saw him as well. The three met in the middle of the temple.

"Where's Young Flame?" Volteer asked.

"What happened?" Terrador followed up.

Cyril sighed "If it hadn't been for Red…" the first half of that made Volteer and Terrador cringe "The whole thing would have been a bust. Young Flame ran his mouth too much at the meeting."

"Damn." was all Terrador managed.

"No doubt Red will make a report on what happened. This will only help him…" Volteer turned to look outside, seeing Flame touch down and head straight for his room "Young Flame?" Volteer said, but Flame did not listen.

"Flame!" Terrador bellowed, this was enough to make Flame stop, but the look he gave them as he turned to face them was one of anger, something Terrador had never seen from Flame.

"What? Cyril probably already said everything, right?" Flame said, his body stiff and his breathing shallow "Wanna hear how I mucked it up from me too?"

Terrador was about to speak up, when he saw into Flame's eyes, an intense look that also looked on the verge of breaking down. One look into those eyes stole the rage he had for Flame talking back to him like that.

Terrador inhaled and exhaled "Rest for the night, Flame. We can discuss this in the morning." he could see Flame was taken aback by his calm response, but did not object. He stormed into his room and slammed the door behind him.

"But if Red has his way…" Cyril hissed "There may not be a tomorrow for Young Flame being guardian."

"Cyril." Terrador spoke in a leveled tone "Let's calm down for now. There will be time to fight this tomorrow." he could Cyril attempt to muster up some argument, but he merely huffed and stormed off, Volteer shortly behind, trying his best to calm down Cyril. Terrador turned back to Flame's door and could hear it, the muffled sounds of Flame crying.


	11. The New Teacher

Terrador let himself into Flame's room; he knew Flame would not want to see anyone, and so he had to take initiative. He could see Flame buried in his pillow, judging by his breathing, he was done crying, and awake.

Terrador tried to speak, but he was never good at this, this was something Ignitus excelled at. He could inspire an army to take the charge against the Dark Master easily, he couldn't inspire a child who had just lost hope. Terrador merely sat beside the pillow, looking to the door, and occasionally stealing glances down at Flame, to see if he moved. He watched Cyril and Volteer walk by, entwined close to each other, Cyril was even smiling again, even a little bit. Volteer always seemed to know how to make Cyril smile. The two of them flew away, no doubt on their way to the capitol building for what was to come.

Terrador's eyes snapped back to Flame as he shuffled out of his pillow. Flame's eyes were still puffy and red from crying most of the night, but he couldn't even bring himself to look at Terrador.

"What're you doing here?" Flame managed, his eyes locked on the doorway "Shouldn't you be flying off telling that council how I messed up."

Inhale. Exhale. "No." Terrador began "I wanted to see how you are doing. We did not get a chance to talk yesterday." Terrador turned to face Flame, he seemed surprised at Terrador's reaction.

"...What's going to happen?" Flame asked.

Terrador had hoped he would talk about his feelings, he sighed "The council will discuss what happened. No doubt Red will be detailed about how you messed it up…-!?" he heard Flame snort audibly. He cursed under his breath, he shouldn't have been so forward with Flame about that "...Sorry."

"Right…" Flame huffed, looking away from Terrador "So that's it? I can't be a Guardian anymore?"

"It's not up to me, or Cyril or Volteer, even Red." Terrador said, then he found himself out of things to talk about "We should get going now."

"Wait." Flame slid out of his pillow and stood up "Aquarius mentioned there are rules about Guardians. About how we...they can't have mates, can't even have kids." Terrador blinked, Cyril had mentioned Flame learned about that, that was another reason he had hoped to talk to him.

"That is true." Terrador said plainly, almost afraid of the questions to come.

"Why?" Flame began.

"The ancient Guardians had hoped to avoid dynasties, long lines of Guardians of the same lineage."

"So then why seek me out?" Flame asked.

"We had only been named Guardians a few years before your father passed. There are rules in place that say a relative of the deceased may take their stead."

"So why not have Red take over? He's...better than me."

Terrador grumbled "Ignitus had told us that no matter what, we could not name Red a Guardian. Ignitus had his reasons, and we never thought to ask." Terrador sighed "That's why Red is trying to have the council name him the Guardian of fire, to circumvent us."

_'Another secret of Ignitus...'_ Flame hissed "Well, guess it doesn't matter now. Red wins, I messed up my chance to become a Guardian." Flame was headed for the door "So let's just hear it so I can go home."

"Flame." Terrador began, making the fire dragon turn around and face him "Whatever happens...know that this can always be a home to you."

Flame turned to face Terrador, while he wasn't smiling, Terrador imagined the sentiment was appreciated "Well...thanks. I guess we should go?"

"...Yes." Terrador said, following Flame.

* * *

Flame and Terrador reached the capitol building just as the council was beginning, Cyril, Volteer, Spyro and Cynder were already there, and the look on their faces wasn't confident. Flame couldn't help but sink lower into himself and drag behind the others as they went through the door. Not even the sight of Ember and the Chief at the table could lift Flame up.

"So, according to Red's report." Flame sighed, they wasted no time, did they? "While the mission was successful, it seems as if the Guardian in training was responsible for the near failure of the mission. And if it wasn't for Red and Cyril, the negotiations would have been unsuccessful." the head council member said. Flame couldn't even bring himself to look at the mole who spoke, his head was low, and his eyes were locked on Red. Even from here, Flame could see the faintest of smiles creeping on his muzzle as he affirmed the events that transpired. He felt Terrador place his large paw on his, giving a silent but reassuring look; Flame was able to feel a small peace from that.

"The actions that must be taken are clear, young Flame has been making steady progress in the physical aspect of his training, but the details of these negotiations have shown a clear and simple path for us to take in regards to young Flame."

'Here it comes…' Flame thought, even Terrador squeezed Flame's paw in anticipation, the look on Red's face growing more sinister.

"Flame…" the council member began "...Red will be responsible for your diplomatic training as Guardian henceforth."

Flame dared a look at Terrador and the other Guardians, all wide eyed in disbelief. Flame then looked to Red next, the look on his face showed Flame that even Red wasn't anticipating this result. Flame had to resist bursting out laughing as he saw Ember's face scrunch up on itself to avoid bursting out laughing as well.

"Wait. I…-!" Red began, only for the sound of the gavel to fall, finalizing this decision.

"Guardians, you are dismissed for now. Red, please prepare yourself for training Flame as soon as possible." As the other dragons left, Flame looked back at Red, their eyes locked, and Red couldn't help but to scowl as he left as well.

'...Oh...' Flame thought.

* * *

Flame sat at the top of the stairs to the capitol building, staring ahead of him in disbelief as the Guardian's roared amongst each other in argument. The only thing to stir him from his stupor was Ember pressing up against him and sitting beside him.

"So…" Ember began.

"So…" Flame followed up.

"Is this better or worse than not becoming Guardian?" Ember asked.

There was a long pause before Flame answered "I have no idea…" Flame turned to Ember "Oh, also according to the others. Guardians can't have kids, that's why Red called me a bastard when we first met."

"I mean, he's still an asshole…" Ember thought.

"Naturally." Flame said "Oh, and we can't even have mates."

"What? Really?" Ember nearly blurted, stealing a quick glance to the Guardians, they were still bickering amongst themselves too much to notice her looking "Dammit." Ember sat on her flank as well, looking to Flame "...What are we gonna do?"

"...I don't know…" Flame said, leaning on Ember, Ember nuzzling into him as well "I mean, they don't have to know yet…"

"If at all…" Ember followed up "We're good at keeping secrets, right?"

"Yeah," Flame managed a smile "Remember when we hid that scroll from the chief...the one he told us not to open till we were older?"

"He still can't find it...he doesn't even know if we took it anymore." Ember winked before turning around "Guardians. Look sharp." Ember pulled away a little bit. Flame turned around and saw the three approaching them, standing up to look at them. There was a long awkward pause before anyone spoke. Ember gave a quick nod and walked off, as much as Flame wanted to grab her and hold her in an embrace again.

"I mean…" Flame finally spoke up "It's either this. Or Red becomes Guardian and that's the end of it." the grumbles of the other Guardian's let Flame know he was right.

"We still can't trust him." Volteer said "There's no promise or guarantee that he will actually train you, or that he will give you sound advice or…" Volteer continued, mumbling under his breath.

"We don't like it." Terrador turned to Flame "But we do not have a choice."

"Neither does Red." Cyril added "If Flame fails again, it could reflect on Red as well."

"So it's a win-win?" Flame added, the three turning to Flame in surprise "I mean, being with Red still sucks, but it's either he trains me right, or he looks like a bad teacher."

"It is in his best interest to train you proper. But perhaps he has thought of that as well." Terrador said "The best we can do is just wait and see. I don't like it, but we don't have much of a choice…-!?" Terrador and the others turned to the sound of Red's staff clinking impatiently on the tile. Flame looked to the Guardian, and the uneasy look on their faces gave him some comfort, at least it looked like they cared. Flame gave a quick nod and walked over towards Red. As he walked though, a new sense of hope was instilled in him, realizing he still had a chance to become Guardian. An old smile crept on his face as he finally faced Red.

"Aw don't look at me like that." Flame managed "I'm just as happy as you are with all this." he winked. Red scowled but ultimately sighed.

"Come." Red said, and Flame followed his uncle into the Capitol Building.

* * *

Flame followed Red up into one of the Capitol Building's spires, leading into what appeared to be a large library; the first floor was lined with bookshelves stacked tight with tomes. A large table was in the middle, a map in the center with other papers littered all around; Flame was too far away to read them all anyways, he imagined he wouldn't understand them much anyways.

"This looks like a library." Flame said, looking up at the dome shaped top, noticing just how high it goes.

"It is a library." Red said, walking past Flame "The second floor is my study. My job on the council is intelligence gathering. Research to find the best path forward for our plans. Also to look into the more magical nature of certain situations I find Warfang in."

Flame nodded, looking back towards Red as he walked up the spiral staircase. Flame slowly followed behind "So then, when are we gonna start that diplomatic training?"

"Ideally, never." Red huffed.

"You sure?" Flame smirked "Wouldn't reflect too well on your skill as a council member...or a guardian…" Flame delighted in hearing Red growl at that "To know you're not gonna train me."

"Seems as though you have thought this through. I didn't give you enough credit." Red grumbled "But when you're a member of the council, I could just as easily say I tried my hardest and that my lessons weren't sticking." When Red reached the top of the stairs he turned to face "It would be as simple as writing it down and notarizing it."

Flame shrank at that comment "Asshole," he huffed "Fine, but they still think you're training me. So that means I have to stick around. If we're going to pretend." Flame brushed past Red's leg, which earned a quick snort "I like how you organized the books. Mind if I put my own spin on it while I'm sitting here doing nothing?"

Red growled deep and low "I swear the council and their insistence on following the guardian's way…" Red moved towards his desk "They'll listen to anything those dragon's have to say, all because of their role in the war, quick to forget…" Red continued, mumbling under his breath "Idiots, the lot of them… They wouldn't know a somatic component from a verbal component."

"What's there to get confused about?" Flame asked, already plucking a few books "You move around for one you say a thing for another."

"Exactly!" Red yelled back, making it to his desk to organize the papers to properly ignore Flame. It was then that his head snapped back up to look at Flame "How…" Red moved towards Flame "How did you know that?"

Flame turned to Red, putting the books back "What? Oh, well...back at the village the Chief wanted me to start training for a proper role in the village, and he signed me up with the village wizard." Flame averted his gaze "I wasn't particularly good at spell casting from a book like a wizard though. Then when the end of the world happened..." Flame lingered.

"Yes…" Red turned his head "Well, dragons are more fit for spontaneous casting like…-!?" Red paused, leading.

"Sorcerers, yeah I know." Flame added, moving past the bewildered Red.

"Alright then, Flame." Red clicked his staff, getting Flame's attention "So what am I?" he asked.

"An asshole." Flame answered, not missing a beat.

"No you…" Red stopped himself, inhaling "You have my curiosity with just how much you know...what kind of spellcaster am I? Sorcerer or wizard?"

Flame turned to face him, looking him over up and down. On the one hand, like he said, dragons were inclined to be sorcerers. But the staff, the books, he could have sworn he saw an old spellbook on his desk too when he walked in.

"...Trick question." Flame glared "You're an arcanist." Flame watched his uncle raise an eyebrow, the grip on his staff tightening "They can do both, plus I bet you used magic to make yourself biped."

Flame watched Red's expression soften, his grip on his staff loosening as Red began to smile, he even began to chuckle "...So I'm right then?" Flame asked.

"More than right." Red smiled a smile Flame hadn't seen since before he figured out they were related "You are absolutely right. None of the guardians, not even your father, could be bothered to make the distinction." Red walked back towards his desk, Flame keeping a close eye on him.

"Okay…" was all Flame managed.

"Maybe I was wrong about you, Flame." Red placed his staff by the side of his desk "When I first met you, I thought you were some ditzy little whelp in over his head and thrown into something he barely understood."

"...But?" Flame asked.

"There is no 'but'. That is the end of my statement." Red looked to Flame "That said, there's no denying you are a fast learner. You developed an unorthodox style of fighting, and have perfected it in a matter of days. You almost brokered peace with the water dragons by merely sitting there and listening to the rest of us." Red cracked a grin "You're nothing of the dragon I thought you were."

"What are you getting at?" Flame asked, feeling a sense of something within him that made him feel pretty good about Red's words.

"What I'm getting at, my dear boy." Red grinned "Is that I will train you."

Even then, Flame couldn't help but to smile.


	12. The Other Sides

"Excellent job with training today, Young Flame!"

"Thanks, Volteer."

"Yes. Your fighting style has molded into something usable, Young Flame. We need only work upon your elemental powers now."

"Thanks, Cyril."

"You'd best be off to training with Red now...It's been a week since he started...he is training you, right, Flame?"

"Yes, Terrador. All sorts of fun history lessons. Know the past to help the future and all that. I'm heading out!"

With that typical morning out of the way, Flame launched himself into the air to fly back towards the Capitol Building. The sun was at the apex in the sky, marking the afternoon. This had been Flame's day for the past week now; mornings were training with the Guardian's, afternoons were training with Red, evenings were spending time with Ember, Spyro and Cynder. Rinse and repeat. He touched down at the plaza square. Gave a quick hug and kiss to Ember as she walked in with Chief beside her. Flame watched Ember walk away as the familiar sound of Red clicking his staff turned his attention the other way. Flame had to get used to seeing Red smile; he was so used to his scowl.

"So…" Red began "Did you notice what they do?"

"I had no idea…" Flame looked up to Red "I never noticed how many times they called me 'Young Flame'. I mean except for Terrador."

"That's because Terrador at least has some moniker of respect, and not patronizing others." Red huffed, the two of them making it into Red's study.

"You? Complimenting the Guardian's?" Flame leaned, earning a smirk from Red.

"Don't press your luck, nephew."

Flame chuckled, Red always used 'nephew' as an insult now, much better than 'bastard', anyways.

"How was training today anyways?" Red asked, looking over a pile of books, no doubt Flame's other training for the day.

"Well enough. Still not good enough in the fire-breathing department." Flame said.

"Ah yes. I'm sure the electric dragon, the ice dragon and the earth dragon can teach you many things about breathing fire." Red smiled back.

"Was that sarcasm, uncle?" Flame grinned, his usual insult to Red, better than 'asshole'. His comment earned a quick shush from Red.

"Hrmph…" Red looked over the books, then back to Flame "Flame, pop quiz!"

"What? Uhm. Okay?"

"Name the secondary elements to the primary elements."

"Er...Water to ice. Wind to electricity. Flora to earth."

"Fire?"

Flame paused "It doesn't have one."

"Precisely. As commonplace as fire is, it is also one of a kind. The Guardians can teach you all they want about melee combat, but they can never teach you the intricacies of fire…" Red pushed the books aside " I will teach you fire. Real fire."

Flame grinned "Yeah. Okay."

* * *

With a nod, Red grabbed his staff, glowing with a new pink energy and clicking his staff down on the ground, the pink glow turned red and spread across the entire room, coating the walls in a soft red glow "I have fireproofed the room, don't need the archives up in flames."

Flame watched the faint red glow cover the entire room top to bottom, before turning back to Red "Can you even use fire? I don't think I've seen you." Flame asked, the malicious grin on Red's muzzle was off-putting.

"Can I use fire, the boy asks…" Red chortled to himself, stretching a paw out and concentrating. Suddenly two orbs of fire appeared above his paw, and then they began to spin. Faster and faster until they appeared to make a ring of red. Then they spun in intricate patterns around his paw, spiraling up and around before he shot it at Flame.

Flame gasped, getting ready to try his best to duck and dodge, but to his surprise, the two orbs turned 90 degrees around Flame, traveling across his sides before shooting into the ground behind him. Flame turned back to Red, an amused look on his muzzle.

"Yes, I can use fire." Red answered plainly "Most fire dragons can use those sweeping breath attacks. I've learned to do something far more unique."

"I bet those hurt…" Flame looked back at the holes where the attack landed, thinking what would have happened if Red hadn't fireproofed the room.

"They do." Red said "However, the obvious downside is that it can only hit a few targets at a time, as opposed to a wave of targets. Your father now, he was always prone to using his fire, but he was capable of using white flames. Not many fire dragons can get their fire that hot."

"The Guardians said I could make some white flames, when we were practicing." Flame added, noting the look from Red.

"Show me." was all Red said. Flame nodded, backing up, taking a deep breath and letting loose a torrent of flames.

"Intriguing…" Red murmured "Minimum range, but mostly blues and white flames."

Flame stopped the fire breath "Yeah, they mentioned that my range was getting shorter, we need to work on that."

"On the contrary." Red said "You have developed a fighting style about dodging your opponents and tripping them. Imagine the benefits of a close range, hot fire would be to such a fighting style."

Realization struck Flame with the benefit in such a move, he couldn't help but to smile, he looked to Red "Could Ignitus ever do something like that?"

"Mm?" Red snapped to Flame "No he couldn't. Ignitus wasn't exactly too keen on listening to my advice. Oppositional younger brother, that's how it goes..." Red averted his gaze, an untold story in that.

Flame looked to his uncle, thinking about what Terrador and Spyro had told him about his father "...What was Ignitus like?"

"The Guardians never speak of him?" Red asked.

"I mean...that's just one side of it." Flame thought quickly "And you taught me to consider different perspectives on certain things." Red snorted.

"Yes well…" Red lingered "How about we save those stories for later. Why don't we continue to explore putting your fire breath to good use alongside your combat style." Red began pacing.

Flame huffed, hoping he would talk. He focused on his breath attack, only going a few meters in front of him, and then he had the idea to decrease the range further. The blue flames fading to pure white fire. And then he brought it closer, and closer and closer.

The sudden flash of white caused Red to jump and look to Flame, looking in disbelief as Flame found himself enveloped in white flames.

"Imagine what happens when I get too close to people now!" Flame laughed, the fire fading quickly. Flame looked himself over, not a burn on him anywhere. He looked back to Red.

"Yes...well...erm…" Red blinked "I suppose we can take a break to talk." Red said, clicking his staff, the red tint in the room fading.

* * *

Flame sat on the floor as Red took a seat beside his desk "So you wish to know about your Father?"

"The others don't talk about Ignitus much. And when they do, it's just them talking about how great of a dragon he was." Flame said.

Red nodded, placing his staff beside him and leaning forward "I won't deny that my brother was a good dragon, everything that he did in the Great War is nothing to scoff at." Red looked at Flame, then out a nearby window "But my brother...everything had to be his way, and he always thought he was above consequence."

Flame thought about it, if Guardian's can't be mated or have kids, his being here was proof enough of that.

"Ignitus and I were both in training to be Guardians. It was at the time I did this to myself…" Red looked down at his paws and his biped form "...I'll never forget the look on my brother's face when he saw me like this for the first time. He was disgusted with me."

Flame thought back to his meeting with Ignitus "That doesn't sound like Ignitus...at least from what I heard..."

"The Guardians like to look at my brother through a rose tint. I'm sure Spyro and Cynder are much the same too. They only knew one side of him...while I saw it all."

Flame inhaled "Why did Ignitus not like what you did?"

Red looked to Flame "Being critical and asking questions, the training is sticking…" Red half chuckled.

"...Well?" Flame asked.

"...Because the magic I use...it is considered dark magic." Red said "Dragons are most attuned to elemental magic, everything else is considered dark magic in the eyes of dragons."

"That doesn't sound right…" Flame said.

"It isn't." Red said plainly "But the stigma stuck with me, and while Ignitus was lauded with praise for training the way most dragons do, I was forgotten, left to myself while I continued to study." Red's gaze became tempered with a cold fury "I dropped out of my own accord, and Ignitus was named Guardian shortly thereafter."

"Did you two ever see each other after that?" Flame asked.

"Not for many years. Not many wanted anything to do with a bipedal dragon...a freak." Red growled "Not until the war had been going on for a few years, around the time Spyro had vanished. Then Ignitus of all dragons approached me, and the Dark Master." Red looked to Flame, he expected such a reaction "Oh yes. Malefor tried to sway me to his side. Promises of power, adulation of my ingenuity and my powers...the role of Guardian of Fire in his new world." Red scoffed "I turned him down, the easiest choice I had made in my life."

"Why?" Flame asked.

"Because I am a dragon of principle, Flame." Red glared at Flame "If there's something I want, I will earn it with my own two paws. I didn't need Malefor's worthless pity." Red's gazed softened "And I think...maybe, I was hoping siding with my brother would give me a chance to reconnect with him. Much good my choice did. Malefor had learned dark magic as I had, many had assumed I was colluding with the Dark Master and sharing my magic with him...and what did Ignitus do…" Red inhaled slowly, then exhaled "Nothing. He didn't stop me as I left again."

Flame looked down to the floor, thinking back to the Guardians, Red, Spyro, and even the meeting with Ignitus. He had always wanted to know what his father was like. He didn't know how to feel now that he knew the whole, ugly truth.

"Do you intend to come in and say something, Terrador?" Red said, looking to the door. Flame whipped around to the closed door to the library. Much to his surprise, the door opened and Terrador stepped through, a fierce scowl on his muzzle.

"How did you know?" Terrador asked.

"A silent alarm spell. A handy trick." Red said, grabbing his staff, the pulsing glow from it finally stopping.

"Terrador?" Flame asked, hoping off the chair to look at him, but Terrador looked past him, focusing only on Red.

"What did you tell him." Terrador asked slowly.

"I told him the truth." Red stood up as well, the grip on his staff tight "Flame has a right to know about Ignitus, the good and the bad."

"How dare you…" Terrador growled, the room shaking.

"Guys." Flame said, getting between the two of them.

"Flame, head back to the temple." Terrador said.

"No!" Flame said a moment later. Terrador's glare pierced him, but he stood his ground "I asked him, he told me. If you're gonna be mad, be mad at me."

"Later." Terrador said coldly, Flame felt so small again, he had never seen Terrador this furious.

"Why do you insist on defending my brother, Terrador? Out of some antiquated sense of duty?" Red asked "He's gone now, you can talk freely about him, and what he took from you." Flame watched in horror as Terrador was the one who shrank back from what Red had said.

"You don't get to…" Terrador tried to speak, but for once since Flame met the earth dragon, he was at a loss for words.

"Ignitus helped a lot of dragons, but he also hurt them too. There's no need to hide that anymore." Red said, standing his ground, an intense gaze set on Terrador. Wordlessly, Terrador spun around and stormed out of the library.

"Red?" Flame looked at his uncle in disbelief.

"We're cutting training short today, nephew. Please leave." Red turned around, heading back to his desk.

"Wait! One more question." Flame said, to his surprise Red stopped to listen "...When we first met and you figured out why I was here, those things you said." Flame swallowed "So why train me now? I thought you wanted to be the guardian."

There was a long pause before Red answered "I did." Red said, still not looking at Flame "When I learned why the Guardian's had taken you here. I feared what had happened before would happen again." He finally looked to Flame "But you are not Ignitus, you are Flame. And that made me realize that rather than fight it, I could help you. Shape you to be a better guardian than your father ever was. I believe advising you to be a guardian will be easier than fighting against the Guardians and their rules. So no, I do not want to be Guardian anymore. I believe the best thing for Avalar and Warfang will be to train you to be Guardian." Red looked down at Flame "I am sorry for what I called you that day."

Flame's eyes stung with the beginning of tears, but he blinked them away "...Thank you. I'll leave you be now." Flame nodded, silently making his way to the door and closing it behind him. He was quick to head out back towards the temple to see Terrador.

* * *

The door to Terrador's room was open, and to Flame's surprise, there was a door in the back. Flame peeked his head through the back door and saw Terrador in the center of the temple, a circular garden.

Flame moved beside Terrador, his head hung low "Terrador...what's going on? What was that?"

"I'm sorry, Flame. You shouldn't have seen that." Terrador looked around at the garden, a broken smile on his muzzle, it made Flame feel uncomfortable. "I grew this, all of this. Did you know that?"

"Terrador." Flame stood up "Don't change the subject. What was that?" It was only then Terrador looked to face Flame.

"Right." Terrador sighed "What Red was referring to was my own mate and child."

"You're…" Flame managed. Terrador nodded.

"I met her while I and the others started the training to become Guardian. A flora dragon, of all things." Terrador looked to Flame "We knew it was wrong, but we couldn't help ourselves. We were young, and thought we could get away with it. But someone found out, and word spread fast about the Guardian who was about to bear a child." Terrador inhaled slowly "So I had a choice, either abandon becoming a guardian or leave my child fatherless, but she left before I could even make that choice." His breathing grew harder "Then the Dark Master was on the rise, and the other dragons went into hiding. I never heard from them again...I don't even know if they're alive." Terrador placed his paw in a patch of flower, his large paw delicately over it all. Tears began to fall on to his paw and the flowers.

"So that's why…" Flame stood up "That's why you were so harsh to me in the beginning."

"Perhaps." Terrador said, looking ahead "Imagine how it felt to know that another Guardian got away with what I couldn't...and maybe that's why I'm trying everything I can to reconcile that." Terrador turned to Flame "You can never be my child...but maybe this training, and just us talking...this was the closest I was going to get to being a father."

Flame looked to Terrador, the sorrowful look he gave only made Flame feel worse. It made his blood boil to know just how much his father hurt Terrador and Red. He thought he was a dragon beyond reproach, but this changed everything he knew about him

"To think you know a guy, huh?" Flame looked ahead at the garden as well, keeping close to Terrador.

"Thank you for hearing me out, Flame. I'm sorry you had to learn about it this way." Terrador said.

Flame paused "I think I'd rather know the ugly truth, than be told a pretty lie." Flame sat up, heading back towards the main hall of the temple "I'll leave you be."

"Before you go." Terrador said, making Flame stop "You and that pink dragoness, Ember? You're just friends right?"

Flame's heart leapt into his chest, after everything he had learned today, about his uncle, about his mentor, about his father. The lies, the truth, and the ugly gray in between. He had to tell the truth here.

"...Yeah, just friends." Flame said, looking ahead, not daring to look back and gauge Terrador's reaction.

"...Alright." Terrador murmured "Thank you."

Flame didn't respond as he returned to the temple.


	13. The Kingdom of Wind Dragons

Training for Flame was tense this last week with everything that happened; Red and Terrador were more stern with Flame. Thankfully, with Red's tutelage, Flame was able to get his fire powers in a spot where the Guardian's were satisfied with it; the look on Cyril as Volteer clung to him in surprise when he enveloped himself in white flames was something that was going to stick with Flame for a while.

"Yes, well, er…" Volteer attempted to regain his composure "Once again you have found an unorthodox fighting style for a fire dragon, but there is no denying these results."

"So what do you say Volteer?" Flame smiled "Think I'm all trained up in the combat department then?"

"Almost!" Cyril stepped in "You've practiced against only training dummies. We will still need to test your style in a real combat scenario, and then there is the matter of your Elemental Fury."

"Elemental Fury. Those big explosions of your elemental powers. Takes a lot of you?" Volteer and Cyril looked to Flame "Red told me. I thought maybe he could train me in that too. But he can't use it..."

"Surprising, given his attitude…" Cyril muttered.

"Right!? That's exactly what I said." Flame smirked, stepping out of the ring and sitting beside Volteer and Cyril.

"Admittedly, the Elemental Fury is the typically the last, and the hardest dragon technique to master." Volteer said "As you said, it takes a lot of energy from the user, and raw emotion. Anger to be precise."

"With it being called 'Fury' that makes sense…" Flame sighed "I mean you know me. I don't exactly get angry."

"Indeed." Cyril added "And previous records indicate that it can be anger brought up from minor annoyances, otherwise it usually ends up out of control. It needs to be a controlled anger."

"Controlled anger?" Flame asked.

"It sounds oxymoronic, does it not?" Volteer chuckled "That's what makes controlling it and mastering it so difficult. There are some adult dragons who cannot even use it."

The three dragons piqued up to the sound of Terrador stepping in, Spyro and Cynder flanking his sides. Flame had been getting used to the earth dragon's interesting combination of scorn and melancholy on his muzzle. A heat spiked through his back at the thought of the lie he told Terrador about him and Ember. There was no more meeting at the Temple because of it.

"Terrador." Cyril greeted him first, earning a grunt and a nod.

"Another negotiation. I have the information right here." Terrador, revealing a folded parchment.

"Wait? There was another meeting? How come none of you woke me up for that?" Flame asked.

"Ah, we only wanted you up so early so you could begin to understand how such discussions work. Upon reflection, throwing you into a council meeting so soon was not the best idea." Cyril said.

Flame blinked and sighed "You're so lucky I'm used to getting up early now…"

"Regardless." Terrador interjected "You're going to Aeolus, the Kingdom of Wind Dragons. It's going to be Spyro and Cynder, Volteer, Flame, and Red." He handed the note to Volteer "If you need me, I will be in my quarters. Good luck." and with that Terrador quickly turned back around and left the training room. A tense, awkward silence hung over all of them as he disappeared into his room. If he wasn't training Flame or on the council with business, he was in his room.

"I suppose we should get ready then…" Volteer broke the tension "Young Flame, meet at the front of the temple when you're ready." Volteer and Cyril were already walking into Volteer's room. Meanwhile Flame, Spyro, and Cynder all turned into Flame's room.

* * *

Flame, Spyro and Cynder opted to simply wait outside the temple for Volteer and Red. Flame didn't have much to pack for trips like this, so he was already set to go.

"You really should consider getting supplies or something to travel with. At the very least decorating your room a little, Flame," Spyro said.

"With my position as Guardian of Fire as shaky as it is. I don't wanna bother. Don't wanna set my roots when I might be...uprooted," Flame added, half smiling.

"But the Guardians said your training is going well, and if Red isn't wanting to be Guardian anymore, there's no competition." Cynder offered.

Flame sighed "There's still this negotiation to get through too. Last one almost fell through because of me, remember?"

"And that's what training with Red has been for. He talks about training with you at the Capitol, you know?" Spyro said.

Flame chuckled, he didn't think Red cared that much to boast about the training. He looked to Spyro and Cynder "Okay tell you what. This negotiation goes well. We're decorating my room. Deal?"

"I'll take a piece of that action as well." The three dragons turned to the sound of Red walking up the steps to the temple "I can get you a simple bookcase so you can take some books home for more training."

"Ancestor's above…" Flame laughed "Mornin' Uncle Red."

"Nephew." Red nodded "Spyro, Cynder." Red turned to Flame "So you have a second chance at this. Do you think you're ready?"

"Truth?" Flame shrugged "I dunno." He looked to Red "Just do me a favor, if I'm about to say something that's going to ruin the negotiation. Please shut me up."

Red chortled "I prepared some silence spells for the occasion, rest assured." earning a snort from Flame and a laugh from Spyro and Cynder.

"Ah, we're all here then." Volteer and Cyril approached the group of dragons. Volteer quickly leaned into Cyril before gathering with the group, heading down the stairs "Oh I'm so excited to attempt to reconnect with my dragon brethren. The Wind Dragons are a reclusive type, even before the Great War. Did you know they are the only dragons species known to exhibit sexual dimorphism?"

"Sex what?" Flame sputtered.

"There are notable differences between the males and females of the species." Red huffed "The males are silver while the females are black."

"They are?" Cynder asked, stopping on the stairs. Volteer stopped to look at Cynder.

"By the ancestors I hadn't even considered that…" Volteer beamed "This could be an exciting development for you, Cynder."

"Cynder…" Spyro leaned into Cynder, nuzzling. Cynder leaned back, a small smile beginning to creep on her muzzle.

Flame watched Volteer and Red take off before joining Spyro and Cynder "What's up?" Flame asked. Spyro looked to Cynder, clearly not wanting to take this from her.

"Well it's just…" Cynder inhaled "I spent all this time thinking my color was because of The Dark Master corrupting me when I was an egg…" Cynder exhaled, eyes growing watery "What if it's because I'm a wind dragon? I mean I can use it, and I always felt good using it." she smiled "It's just nice to know Malefor didn't have anything to do with this."

Flame nodded, smiling "I bet that is a good feeling. Who knows, maybe you'll even learn about your parents or something!"

"My parents…" Cynder smiled, nodding. Then her eyes grew wide "Oh ancestors, my parents…" she said again. Flame noticed she was the last to take off as they all flew off towards Aeolus.

* * *

Flame had expected the group to land at Aeolus sometime ago, but they had been flying for hours by now the early morning had turned into late afternoon. They long since flew past the Enchanted Forest, past the Silver Delta, and Flame gave the risen city of Atlantis a wide berth as they flew by it. Flame finally had the audacity to fly closer to Volteer and Red, Spyro and Cynder stayed in the back.

"Hey!" Flame panted "I'm gonna be that dragon but...are we there yet?"

"I know it's a long flight, but we're at the final part now," Red said "We just need to start flying up now." The group of dragons stopped and began hovering just below a large formation of dark gray clouds.

"Fly up!?" Flame spat.

"Yes. Did you truly believe the Kingdom of Wind Dragons to be landlocked?" Volteer chortled "Aeolus is in the skies, surrounded by a maelstrom of thunder clouds. Such as these." Volteer's eyes seemed fixated on the dark clouds in delight.

"How are we supposed to fly through it?" Spyro asked.

"Normally you don't, that's how the wind dragons stayed as safe as they did during the war." Red said, holding his staff forward and letting it glow a bright and eerie pink "But because we have the advantage of an invitation..." the others watched as a portion of the clouds began to swirl and open up into a gaping hole, large enough for a small formation of dragons to fly through "We don't have to worry about that," with that, Red's staff stopped glowing and he flew through, the others following close behind. Flame couldn't help but notice Volteer was flying too close to the edges of the entrance; small particles of electricity struck him. Volteer shuddered and smiled warmly as it did. Flame looked back towards the others and noticed Cynder's flight moving slower and slower. Flame lagged behind to Spyro, figuring she had told him before she'd tell him.

"Spyro...is Cynder...?" Flame began quietly. Spyro sighed, looking back towards Cynder.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. Just nerves." Spyro looked ahead "She was excited to see where she came from to start. But then when you said she might meet her parents. I think that's what got to her."

"Damn, really?" Flame said "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset her."

"It's alright. You didn't know." Spyro nodded "Cynder did a lot when she was under Malefor's control."

"Terror of the Skies...I've heard the stories…" Flame lingered. Spyro nodded solemnly.

"She's been getting better about it. I'd like to think you, Ember, and I are all helping her with that. But it's a different story now. I just hope she knows we're all here for her."

Flame nodded, the topic of parents got him thinking about Ignitus and the complicated feelings from that "Hey, Spyro…" Flame began trying to find the most delicate way to word it "Has...the Chronicler visited you at all?" Flame began, thinking fast when he saw the confused look on Spyro's muzzle "I mean...since the end of the war?"

"Oh uh...no." Spyro said, looking ahead "Why?"

Flame gulped "Nothing, just thinking out loud…" Flame nodded and picked up the pace, leaving Spyro behind as he thought about that. Ignitus spoke so highly of Spyro, he figured he would have made an effort to see him at some point. It had been nearly a month now since he first met Ignitus, and with the time of peace and recovery, there should have been ample time to visit him, right?

* * *

Flame's thoughts were diverted to the appearance of the massive city in the clouds. Chunks of land dotted the skyscape, and upon these pieces of earth were buildings of different types; it was like a giant metropolis in the clouds. The group of dragons followed Red and Volteer as they touched down on the largest formation, A large castle with swirling architecture towered over them. Flame could see Cynder's eyes were looking everywhere except the castle. Even from here they could see dragons of silvers and blacks flying around going about their day; some stopped and whispered, looking at the differently colored dragons; a few more stopped to observe the black dragoness with them.

All eyes were back on the castle as the portcullis opened up, three dragons of silver and black stepped forward. Red and Volteer stepped forward with a bow.

The first dragon was a lithe yet imposing silver dragon. Flame had never seen a dragon with hair before, but this dragon had two knotted braids of hair on both sides of his muzzle. Even the wings had a feathered design about them.

The second dragon was a medium built black dragoness. A rich magenta underbelly made Flame see double; in addition to the intricate white markings all across her body.

The third dragon, another silver dragon, this one with a long well kept beard that went straight down. Large and intimidating, Flame figured this one could give even Terrador a scare.

"The Anemoi of Aeolus: Boreas, Notus, and Eurus." Red spoke calmly, looking around as is if the other had lost something, before returning his attention to the three wind dragons.

"The Delegates of Warfang…-?" The lithe silver dragon spoke, presumably Boreas. His sentence trailed as he observed Cynder looking at the city around them. The surprised expressions on Notus and Eurus broke the tension slightly.

"Windborn!" Boreas spoke up, keeping his sharp tone and yellow eyes on Cynder. A hip check from Flame made Cynder snap to and look to the three wind dragons and shrink.

"She is with us," Volteer interjected.

"My name is Cynder…" Cynder stepped forward, finally finding the strength to look at them.

"The reports stated there was a wind dragoness assisting the purple dragon during the Great War. I had assumed them to be exaggerating…" The dragoness spoke, most likely Notus.

"We assumed all the eggs were destroyed in the grotto…" the third dragon spoke, Eurus "...Are there any others who survived?" Flame couldn't help but to look away.

"I'm afraid not...I apologize." Volteer stated.

"The one time we decide to join our dragon brethren in the tradition of the grotto...and the Dark Master decides to amass a genocide of the dragons…" Boreas spat, growling under his breath "But I digress...we are here for the negotiation…" The three dragons turned and walked back into the castle "Come"

"I thought Aquarius had an attitude…" Flame muttered.

"They have a right to be." Volteer approached Flame.

"What's more…" Red also stepped in "The loss is still probably fresh to them…"

"Loss?" Cynder asked sheepishly.

"I noticed it too. I merely didn't wish to say anything…" Volteer said "There are supposed to be four in the Anemoi; representing the cardinal directions…" Volteer sighed "The wind guardian, Zephyrus isn't here."

"Deja vu…" Flame muttered, earning a hiss from Red.

"We must tread carefully. You've seen they are hesitant to interact with non-wind dragons." Volteer gulped "And they are not the type to ask us to leave if we step out of line. One wrong move…"

"And it's a fight…" Cynder finished grimly.

The color disappeared from Flame's scales as he heard all that, the door closing behind him as his second chance came upon him.


End file.
